Poison Princess
by NatsuhiNamikaze
Summary: Ever wondered why Lotti didn't seem affected by it when she poisoned Ada? What if Alice was one of the Baskerville's "poison princesses"? What will it change... or will anything change at all? Brelice, rated for later chapters
1. Original Sin

**Description:** What if Alice was one of the "poison princesses" what will it change... or will anything change at all? Brelice, other pairings if absolutely insisted on. Rated for later chapters.

**Disclaimer:** Pandora Hearts and Dokuhime are owned by their respective owners I'm just borrowing the characters and only claim the idea of this fic. No characters were harmed in the process of making this fic, although the amount of Break's hidden candy and sweet stack might've dramatically decreased.

**Original Sin (Prologue)**

_My kiss does not tell tales of love.  
>My embrace does not give warmth.<br>I only bring death._

_**Sablier - 40 years before Oz Vessalius' banishment to the Abyss**_

"Don't leave!" cried the brunette for the millionth time already before she roughly startled out of her dream with tears rolling down her face and a hand on her wildly pounding heart. She had this dream from way before she could remember. She hated it, especially since it came back every night. She hated not knowing who or why in the first place she chased after. She only remembered long, braided gold hair and warmth.

"You had that dream again, Alice? That's not good."

Alice was startled when she heard the familiar voice and dropped the bedspread she was wiping her tears away with. In one of the chairs in the bright room sat a woman in her mid fourties who beared the obvious traits of a noble and she held some neatly folded clothes.

"What do you want Granny Celia? It's not like you to just visit this early in the morning."

"Early? It's already noon!" said the woman with disapproval in her voice and stood up."Now hurry up and get ready, because there came a request for you."

"A request? For me?" asked the girl surprised and finally got up from her bed.

Alice, who haven't looked like more than thirteen- like everybody in her "family" possessed an unusual beauty. She had long straight chocolate brown hair which fell way past her hips, amethyst colored eyes and unblemished skin that was whiter than lily. Her body was also generous for her age with soft curves in all the right places, although she was a little shorter than others.

She proceeded to the luxorious bathroom that was attached to her room and started the bath and while the water run to the tub, she slowly pulled down the white lacy nightgown from her body, put it in a basket and stepped onto the cold black marble floor. She closed the tap, put bubbles and some salts in the water and got into the tub. The water was warm and in no time her skin became red while she played absentmindedly with the bubbles. She was so deep in thought she didn't hear Celia enter the bathroom.

"Yes. Although for the love of God I couldn't figure out why would they want you. Lottie is far more suited for this kind of jobs." answered the woman while she started washing the girl's body with soap.

Alice frowned and closed her eyes when water with the amount of a small bucket poured down her head and Celia started rubbing her hair with shampoo rather harshly than rinsing it out.

An hour later when Alice was washed profoundly, body massaged with lotion to make her skin softer, nails filed and lacquered to perfection, carefully chosen corsette and clothes tight enough to show off her curves (and nearly choke her) to the satisfaction of her companion, the girl was ordered to sit down before her dressing table while Celia combed and styled her hair then upplied make up. When she was finished with all the painful procedures Alice looked like the finest porcelain doll lacking even the slightest flaw. She hated it, but kept quiet. She learned a long time ago, that resistance was futile.

"It really looks like the clothes do the man." said the woman pleasantly while eyeing her up and down checking for anything amiss. "Now come and be a good girl. And most of all for the love of everything sacred, keep that smart attitude of yours in check." she was already out of the room when she said it, but despite this her next sentence and the reprimanding tone in it still was audible to the younger girl. "I swear someday it will tie you in a whole lot of trouble."

Alice took one last look at his room burning its image to her brain, because she had a feeling this will be the last time she saw it. Her eyes wandered from the delicate cream colored walls to her red curtains and her mahagony bed which got bedposts and same red canopy as the curtains, bedsheets and decorative pillows, her mahagony floor and furniture, the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling of the room, her many dolls and puppets to finally rest on her black cat, Cheshire laying lazily and without any care on her bed. She sighted and exited her lonely room in her tower to catch up to Celia.

It wasn't like she would miss this place or any of it's inhibitants, simply she was just familiar only with this space- her room. Of course, in her view it was a sorry excuse of a room, since it was located on the top of a tower far away from the main building. This was one of the reasons why did she only met with a few people. Visitors was scarce and she wasn't allowed to leave her room at all. Like everybody was pretending she didn't exist. For this reason she was distant from the rest of her relatives and hadn't bore any affection for them. In fact she loathed them with every fiber of her body. Also she couldn't remember her past at all- she couldn't recall the faces of her parents or anything outside her room and she got only recollection of the recent years. Of course she didn't know how long that was since she haven't got any time-keeping devices aside from an old grandfather clock. Still, it was somewhat a home to her.

She knew this day was going to come, when a request would come for her and she will have to leave, but Alice haven't know it will come this early. She only completed her training two years ago and there was still girls older than her. She thought they asked always for the oldest. Therefore this was an important assignment where they needed to choose carefully. She wondered what kind of man will she be forced onto and her scowl deepend.

Once outside, the warm sunlight caressed her face, but Alice couldn't appreciate it at all. There was a time when she would given anything if she could leave that damned tower even for only a short time, but because of her "granny's" influence she lost that desire long ago. Celia wouldn't give a damn for such foolish and unnecessary things. Not while she needed to be educated to perfection and disciplined.

She took quick disinterested looks at her surroundings though while opening her black lacy parasol knowing full well it will earn her a lot of unneeded reprimanding if she didn't do it thus ruining her perfect pale skin (even though she found it unnecessary for a walk less than fifteen minutes mostly under trees), not really noticing the birds singing plesantly nor bothered what her companion might thought about it. She was actually a bit grateful they chose her, if for nothing else than at least for finally getting the hell out of this place. This thought made her a little too cheerful and she actually started singing softly to herself until her companion asked her to stop it when she got to the part of _"Till the queen screems 'Of with your head!'..."_ since it was disturbing so she was forced to hum the rest of the song what in itself earned her some very dark glares, but Celia hadn't said anything and Alice was curious about what else can she do and get away with it.

Alice dreamed of escaping from here and living a normal life nearly as much as from the mysterious blond. Which raise the question of why exactly did she feel always like she forgot something very important everytime she had that dream. Really, just who was that guy? Why did she dream about him in the first place? And why couldn't she remember her past at all? All of it was just too confusing and goody now her head hurt. Great. Like all that hairpins and decorative accessories wasn't making her head heavy and pick in her scalp or her tight clothes and shoes wasn't uncomfortable enough in the first place. Not to mention that her eyes hurt and teared up so much because of the kohl that she wanted to wipe it off. She felt really stupid. Just what more could possibly happen to her today?

While hurrying through the garden that separeted her tower from the rest of the mansion they saw two deep red cloaked men coming their way, traitor of their own kind dragging an "elder sister" of hers deep into the forset- to the execution grounds.

"The Shinigami caught her yesterday." interrupted Celia Alice's thoughts without any care. "The fool fell in love and abandoned her mission to elope with him. I really hope you are wiser than her." the woman looked at Alice. "No matter what you cannot fall in love. You would kill him anyway." she said softly. "Besides there are plenty of girls who can replace you, Lycoris."

"I know that already." Alice frowned in disdain for the name. It was costumary to give a flower's- a poisonous one's name to every "princess" in her family. She turned down her head when they walked past the Shinigami. She also wondered briefly if she will ever be in the previous girl's place- she just couldn't imagine how in the world will she succeed if she don't even have the desire to do so or any sense of duty towards anybody here. Suddenly just escaping became very alluring for her since Alice despised them and despised this place above everything else. She knew full well this was just a warning to all of her sisters, because many of them couldn't bear with the painful training and tried to escape. They wanted them to fear and obey. Unnecessary things like any kind of emotions besides fear, be that sadness, curiousity or god forbid- love- was strictly punished.

Since she was born into the Baskerville family she had no choice. To the outside it was a family whose main priority was to establish connections with other noble families. Only the members of said family knew that every girl (sometimes boys too) born into it or bought automatically became poison princesses- assassin mistresses against other nobles. Disposable weapons. And because of this questionable practice all kind of failure was unacceptable.

She walked silently behind Celia passing through many halls and hallways counting her steps while looking around in the gorgeously decorated main building of the mansion until they reached a heavy dark wood door- the study of their master. The woman knocked on the door then opened it and stepped inside.

"She's here, Glen-sama." said her companion after a deep bow and Alice stepped forward. Strangely enough the room was in semi-darkness despite the sunny weather since the large windows was covered with heavy curtains and the only source of light was a lit candle on the writing-desk.

In front of her sat the head and only master of the noble Baskerville family, Glen Baskerville, currently writing one thing or another in some paper, only briefly looking up then going back to his work. The man appeared to be in his mid twenties. He had black hair, amethyst irises and a very pale complexion.

"Glen-sama." bowed Alice deeply before kneeling down, never rising her hard stare from the mahagony floor and the persian carpet. She hated this above everything else and most certainly hadn't made a secret of her distaste which earned her a discreet nudge at the ribs- a courtesy of Celia. Even though Glen was her father, she wasn't allowed to call him that. Because to him and everybody else she was nothing more, than a poison princess, a thrownaway tool and nothing else.

Anger woke inside her for the first time she could remember and she decided that they couldn't do that to her. No matter what she will complete her task and she will be free after that. She had enough of her meaningless life until now, that her sole purpose in life was to prepare for this day only. Alice wanted none of this anymore. She will escape even if she will be hunted for the rest of her life or she must run for the end of the world. The fundations of her plan was already set and she was suddenly very grateful for her long bangs and the posture of her body that hid her face. She quickly guarded her emotions, softened her eyes and put up a blank face albeit she hadn't lift up her head, hoping that no one could guess what was she planning.

"Rise 499th poison princess of the Baskerville family." said the man, but never looking up. "It has been decided to which family you will be sent."

_My body cannot love anyone._

**Authoress' Notes:** This is my very first fic, so be patient with me, also constructive critique is most welcomed and strongly recommended. Reviewers all receive virtual Break plushie! I'm sorry for the grammatical errors, English isn't my native language. Updates most definitely will be slow. *bows very deeply and many many times while saying sorry*  
>Also the song Alice is singing is Hypnogaja's Looking Glass, a song I fell in love with a few days ago. By the way, the singing part was inspired by an incident which happened yesterday while with the biggest knife home I was cutting up the meat for making stew, at the same time I was singing this song and when I got to the quoted line my mom <em>very <em>strongly advised (aka ordered) me to stop since it's highly "disturbing"... whatever that may mean in that situation (unnerving maybe?) XD

~Natsuhi


	2. Sin I

**AN:** A friend of mine who read the early sketch of this story reminded me that I own an explanation about the last chapter, more precisely the "fucked up timeline" as she calls it. Okay I admit I seriously messed with the events, the timeline and even with the background of the characters for the sake of the plot. Everything will be explained in later chapters, I don't wanna spoil now.  
>Also she wanted to know why I gave Alice the "codename" of the main character in Dokuhime. Well, it was because after reasearching the poisonous flowers I haven't found many (in other words just one) that is typically red. (shame on me!) Also one don't have to read (though it's a masterpiece) Dokuhime to understand the plot, since I will explain everything in due time. Have I forgot anything else?<br>Oh yes, before I forget thanks so much for the silent readers also reviews and helping suggestions make my day!  
>Now onward with the new chappy~<p>

**Sin I**

_I am the __"poison princess".  
>This arms are not allowed to embrace anything and anyone.<br>The more beloved they are, the less I can hold them._

_**Reveille – Two weeks earlier**_

There was three loud knocks on the door before the young man entered the study. It was a very bright and airy room with comfy furnitures and a view to the gardens. The windows was open to let in the warm early summer sunlight as well as the light breeze and the sweet scent of the flowers and the singing of the birds drifting with it. A middle aged man with greying hair stood by the window and looked deep in thoughts like something was troubling him until he heared the door opening.

"You were calling for me, Master?" asked the young man who had just entered. He was tall with a slender but muscular build and had long white hair tied in a ponytail in a peculiar way. His eyes was red and piecing while his posture showed rigid discipline.

"Oh... Kevin, yes come in." the man turned away with a faint sigh from the window, sat down to his cherry wood bureau and quickly gone over some papers until he found what he was looking for, a letter of some sort. "I know this will be a bit sudden, but I've chosen a suitable bride for you. " he told while quickly looking through the paper. "She is the only daughter of the Gravelle family, some distant cousins of the Longdens and will be the duenna of my wife as well as Emily's. She will arrive in a little more than two weeks." he said then put down the letter and looked somewhat expectantly at the young man.

Now this wasn't a topic he expected to discuss when he was summoned by his master. To say that Kevin was astonished was a serious understatement. Of course he was a knight serving the noble Sinclair family and as such arranged marriages was common, but this pretty much came out of nowhere since even though he worked here several years already there wasn't even talks about searching for a betrothed for him yet. He was still young- 21 and as such enjoyed some flirting or courting a girl now and then as well as being unwedded. He didn't know how to react to the news, so he only said a neutral _"Thank you, sir."_

"Also my daughter will come home two days after, so be sure to see to that." his master said that with visibly less discomfort.

It was apparent that the older man was still unsure if he made the right choice after all. There was something awfully wrong with this girl, Kevin knew it. It most certainly wasn't something concerning her lineage because if she wouldn't be in an eligible rank then they wouldn't gave her a second thought so he wondered if she was somewhat illegitimate or acquired one of _that_ kind of reputations.

"As you wish, sir." he answered after a brief pause and understanding this was his dismissal he exited the room. But an uneasiness lingered in his mind what he couldn't ignore as he returned to his duties.

And so the following days an enormous cleaning fever had started. The lovely townhouse in which the Sinclairs have been residing got repainted inside and out while the tiles on the roof got completely changed. The rooms have been redecorated with the utmost care according to the latest fashion and the garden got remodeled with lots of flowers and trees. New garden-seats had been placed near flowering bushes to provide relaxation. Even the maids and other servants got brand new uniforms.

The noise of hammers, sawing and workers starting early in the morning became common in the house and Kevin didn't like it one bit. He always hated big fusses and he certainly didn't understand the need for this for the arrival of such a low ranking girl. He somewhat would understand if it was for the older daughter's return (and it was also hers in some extent), but it was evident that the real goal was to show off the wealth of the family and fascinate the 'new girl' as he called her inwardly. It all was plain annoying to the point he wished farther the constant noises of work together with his intended.

In his point of view the end of the two weeks and with it the completion of the renewal couldn't come any slower. He could barely keep up with keeping his young miss Emily away from the worksites (and also possible trouble and/or getting hurt) while helping with moving heavier furnitures.

Also he was somewhat sulky because of all this pressure his hidden stress-relieving candy stacks dramatically decreased in the last couple of days. And his next day off when he could replenish them was more than two weeks later. But with this over came a new annoyance, namely he still didn't know anything more about the girl he ought to marry. God, he didn't even wanted to get married yet, more so to someone he knew nothing about. He moodily started to get ready to welcome the mysterious girl with mild annoyance accompanied with the nagging uneasyness and this kind of thoughts.

Somewhere close to the forest nearby the town a carriage jolted lonely in the hot June noon. The Sun was high in the sky and there wasn't even the slightest breeze hence the passengers fanned themselves lazily. Only one girl stared out absentmindedly the window with her cheek rested on her balled fist watching the landscape they passed by. A letter rested on her lap tightly held in her another hand. Besides her locked in a basket slept peacefully her feline companion, Cheshire.

The girl appeared to be deep in thought and occasionally her mouth formed silent words like she was trying hard to learn something. Every now and then she will say louder a word that was totally unrelated to the one she said earlier thus making it hard to figure out what exactly was that she dwelled on. Her fingers skimed over random words in the letter, but it doesn't looked like she was paying any attention to it.

A scene she saw days earlier just wouldn't leave her thoughts. Or more accurately what she didn't saw bothered her. While leaving the town she lived in until now- Granny called it Sablier- she saw houses. Houses that was in ruins. There wasn't anybody in sight. The whole place was like a ghost city with nothing just some creepy ruins and thick, dark mist even though it was a warm and sunny morning.

Then she saw it- a large black crater in the middle of the city. Upon seeing it she instantly got an eerie cold feeling deep within her chest and suddenly it became very difficult for her to breath. At the same time she feeled it, more than ever that she forgot something important and now she could nearly remember, she just couldn't quite put her finger on it.

But the unpleasant feeling and the faint memory of a heavy scent (something burning maybe?) as well as a metallic taste in her mouth remained with her long after they passed that place, when she could see the distorted buildings and some miserable people sitting at the side of the road or hiding in the houses and every possible place. Why did she felt like she somehow knew what happened? And why for the first time did she felt like she doesn't want to remember anything?

Her head started to hurt again. Alice acknowledged it with a bitter half-smile that lately this happened more and more recently.

"Do you need anything Miss Alice?" asked one of her companions distracting the brown haired girl from her musings.

"No." answered the girl bored without moving her gaze from the scenery. It was really dull with neat, rich sunflower, grain or other crop fields occasionally shifting with some wooded patches. The occasional mountains she saw far away were blue and quickly changed into seemingly endless meadows that looked like their ends were interlocked with the cloudless blue sky. She didn't know when was the last time she saw any kind of settlement that day.

"Should we stop to take a rest then?" asked carefully now her other companion who until now remained silent on most of the trip.

Alice slowly moved her gaze from the window and rested it on her while weighting her options. She was really bored and since they continued their journey that day she already slept a few hours, they stopped twice to eat and rest and now she was practically with nothing to do. Reading was naturally out of the question since there was no book that could hold her interest for long. Playing cards was unwomanly while eating will surely ruin her dress and suddenly it came to her mind that why was she caring about that since Granny Celia was nowhere near. Still she opted against it. But what tempted her the most was the chance to finally stretch out her legs and have a nice long walk after all that sitting uncomfortably in one place. Also the fresh air was sure to blow out the pain from her head. After a while she made her decision.

"There's no need for that. We will arrive shortly, won't we?"

"Yes, the town is just a little after the forest that's coming up. We should arrive at mid-afternoon."

"Okay." and with that said she was back to watching as the scene run by with nothing better to do. The girl sighted heavily knowing this will be a long ride.

"If I may ask," asked the previous one of her companions with worry in her voice. "are you really sure you want to do this, Miss Alice?" when she didn't recive an answer she continued. "It's still not too late... you can still call off the mission and just go home..."

"It's okay." the girl's voice was bored and didn't betray any emotion like she was somehow expecting this conversation.

"But if you got found out... you should've never accepted this task..." her companion seemed genuinely worried not the first time they set out, but this was the first time she gave voice to her discomfort. It was clearly written on her face that she deemed it a wrong idea to even depart and wanted to turn back at once.

"If I hadn't accepted it I would've killed on the spot!" Alice's eyes suddenly flashed with suppressed anger when she looked back at her, but after a minute they softened. "Besides I don't plan on getting found out. Fortunately I haven't complied with Granny's orders and you haven't told her either so I don't think they will find out soon if you can keep up the act." she turned her head again and continued with a soft tone that was only barely audible in the horse's noise. "It's too late to back out now. And I have to do this if I want to be free."

"I'm sorry, I didn't wanted to offend you."

"It doesn't matter. Just you two don't ever leave me in any circumstance, okay?"

"We won't, Miss Alice." said the two while hugging her.

Meanwhile the residents of the Sinclair household got ready to receive the girl they had chosen and now were standing on the stairs leading to the entrance of the house. There was an uncomfortable silence that unnerved everyone while they avoided each other's gaze. The young knight wondered not for the first time about why his masters looked so guilty.

"Hey Kevin, is it true that your bride will come here today?" asked after tugging at the young white haired man's sleeve an excited little girl in whose short honeyblond hair was tied two pink ribbons. She was still very young, only eight years old and her innocence somehow always cought him off guard.

"Yes." answered shortly Kevin without taking his eyes off the road.

"Is she pretty?" inquired furter the girl with genuine interest and he was at a loss as how to respond to her.

"I haven't seen her yet, Miss Emily." said Kevin looking at the girl who in turn gave him a big toothy grin.

"She must be very pretty if she will be your wife." shortly after saying that something caught her eyes and she started jumping and shouting. "They're here, they're here!" a black carriage pulled by a black horse approached steadily down the street.

"Emily, manners! Do you want her to think you are some mannerless peasant girl?" chided her mother gently but firmly and the little girl stopped immediately and composed herself. She straightened her pretty pink dress while putting on a serious expression, but her eyes still glistened with great anticipation.

"Sorry Mama." she said shortly after with all the seriousness in her tone that an eight year old could muster.

Kevin could understand Emily's excitement though the little girl saw everything brighter than what they was. And for the first time he wondered about what will this girl look like. Even though he thought about her a few times, this was the first when he gave any thought about her looks. Until now he only wondered about what could be so wrong with her. From the nervousness of his master and the somewhat apologetic way he started to look at him since he told him about the deal Kevin also could belive that she was thin or fat, ugly or beautiful, he could even imagine a woman who was twice as old as he was.

And even though previously he didn't want this day or the girl to come at all now his interest was genuinely picked. He wanted to know if she had red, blonde, black, brown or possibly white hair, the color of her eyes and what was she like. Her likes and dislikes. Now for a moment he could forget that he will need to live the rest of his life with someone who he doesn't know at all, who was chosen for him and be concerned about trivial matters like will her hair be long or short or will she be smaller or taller than him (he strongly hoped for the previous one). Will she be intelligent or mindless?

As he mulled so the carriage stopped before the stairs of the house. Upon seeing it closely the carriage looked rather weather-worn and plain looking. Nothing out of the ordinary considering the long way it took. After a quick nod towards them the driver hopped down from his perch to open the door and he helped down a strait black haired young woman in black shoes and servants clothes with white lacy pinafore and headdress... then another identical one. They was pretty with their hair tied in pigtails with red ribbons and shining blue eyes. There was also a red bow tied on their necks. Both looked delicate and a few inches shorter than him.

Kevin instantly blinked and discretely rubbed his eyes. There was supposed to be only one girl arriving! His surpirise only increased when the twins exchanged a couple of hurried words with the driver who in turn scratched his head behind his top hat and with a shrug started to unload the luggage while one of the sisters took out a basket from the carriage then they both stretched out their hands towards the open carriage door.

Shortly after appeared a high healed red silken shoe decorated with black lace and rose then a white gloved hand and the two sisters helped elegantly down the carriage a young lady in a long flowing red silken dress with incredibly long brown hair. Kevin understood right away what was the reason of his masters doubt: she was only a child!


	3. Sin II

**AN:** So, I've decided to quickly post until chapter 5 (Sin V) to see if people are interested in this. So you can expect one chappy in every week. If people are disinterested then I think I'll abandon this story.  
>I plan this story to be made up of two parts. Wonder if you can guess where will the first part end. =)<br>We are approaching the first turning point of the story. Until now I've been trying to describe the feelings and thoughts of the characters with the basic situation, but from the next chappy on the happenings that gives the build-up of the tension for the climax of the first part will start.  
>I think I won't spoil anything if I tell that Alice's inability of telling exactly how much time passed since she could remember is one of the most important elements.<br>Love it or hate it? Please let me know!

**Sin II**

_Mistakes are not allowed.  
>It's kill and be killed or kill and survive.<em>

Kevin could only stand there thunderstrucked and gaping while the three girls walked up on the stairs to them, the twins carrying the luggage and the girl only taking the basket. He had to admit there was something very intriguing about the brunette as her amazingly long hair drifted behind her like a veil while she strode up on the steps elegantly, each step signed with a semi-loud stamping of her feet. It was evident that she will surely grow up to be a truly beautiful woman with her curly figure and thin waist. But she carried such a diginified air around her with a feeling of utter haughtiness and disdain for the residents when she quickly measured her surroundings with her eyes that would've been remarkable even from an archduchess.

"She is very pretty like a princess." whispered Emily with a smile in her voice. It wasn't hard to tell she got an instant liking to the girl.

The girl ascended upon the stairs in no time in tow with her companions and the master of the house stepped forth to greet her and introduce his family. "Welcome to Reveille, I hope you travelled well. I am Ronald Sinclair, this is my wife, Klara and our younger daughter, Emily." The girl curtsied a bit strangely and answered softly. For untrained eyes it looked like the girl was a bit clumsy, but Kevin instantly noticed: it was forced to look less graceful. "Let me introduce you." said the man after and gently directed her towards the knight. She stopped a few steps apart from him. A strange and heavy, but nice flowery scent wafted upon him the moment she got close.

"This is Alice Gravelle." said the man. "The only daughter of the Gravelle family from Laurier."

"I am Alice Gravelle. It's a pleasure to meet you." said the girl with a sickeningly sweet voice after giving a lot less graceful curtsey to him, her eyes never meeting his. She emerged quickly with a pleasant smile that somehow looked a little bit smart and locked eyes with him.

This greatly throw the young man off. Her looks and manners opposed greatly each other. She was very unlike the low ranking noble girl she claimed to be. Upon seeing her close he could tell she was not only a little small- she came up a few inches lower than his shoulders but got a very pretty face with peculiar amethys eyes framed with long black eyelashes and very fair skin. Her lips was full and pouty. What's more not only was she straight-out provoking him, but she also looked down concealedly on his masters. Even though her words was covered in honey they was not pleasant. Not at all. But her eyes was the most striking- they looked like thorns.

"I am Kevin Regnard, knight of the Sinclair family." answered gently but somewhat reservedly the white haired man after recovering. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." but when he reached for the girl's strangely warm hand to give a polite kiss to it, Alice immediately pulled them back like she was burned with a frightened expression on her face.

"I hope it doesn't brother you," turned back the girl quickly to the older man. "but I brought along my handmaids, Marie and Anne Stanton." the twins simultaneously bowed respectfully. "They will help me to get used to the routine here as well as helping me uphold the traditions preceding weddings of my home."

"Traditions?" asked Klara a little surprised.

"Yes, there are quite a few. Before the wedding I can't touch anything directly to retain my purity and my clothes that I have on must be burned immediately after I take them off to avert ills."

"They are quite the complex ones." when that was said suddenly a loud _meow_ was heard from the basket and little Emily's eyes instantly kindled and all Kevin could think was _'Oh god, a cat.' _He was truly awed that his masters allowed her to bring along the pet since Emily futilely begged and thrown tantrums for one for at least two years now.

"Yes, they are. I hope it won't disturb you in the least." Alice answered like nothing happened.

"Not at all!" rushed the lady of the house out with her answer. "Oh, how rude from me to hold you up when you traveled so much. Poor thing, you must be tired. Kevin, why don't you show Alice to her room so she can refresh herself. And if you don't mind join us for dinner tonight."

After excusing themselves they headed to her accomodations in an awkward silence. Even though he wanted to start a conversation to drove away the uncomfortable air around them the girl would only answer in neutral one-word sentences and she didn't ask anything. The walk to her room feeled like an eternity, but was in reality no more than five minutes. And as life would have it, her room was not only in the same hallway as his, but was opposite from it. What's more they was sharing a bathroom.

After a quick goodbye Alice and the twins was left alone. She let out her cat then unceremoniusly floped down on the bed while Marie and Anne started to unpack her things. They filled up the closets and drawers with clothes, dresses and undergarments, put some make-up, jewellery and hairbrushes on the dresser and they even managed to find place to her shoes.

"So this is it then. It is not much though." said Marie while trying to find a proper place to some ribbons while locating a missing pair of a white stocking.

"It's enough for the time being." answered the girl after looking through the room. Despite being a lot smaller than her previous one and a little bare it somehow gave a very warm and welcoming feeling to her, something her old room lacked. She picked up the cat and gently pressed her nose to his. "But it sure complicate things." she stated after a while so softly that the sisters nearly missed it.

"May I inquire how so?"

"The knight. No one said anything about him. And he doesn't look very fond of me."

"You just arrived, Miss Alice." she sat down on the edge of the bed and lightly brushed the girls hair who in turn let go of Cheshire and closed her eyes. "Besides you are a very beautiful young lady. Any young man would fall in love with you in no time. And beauty is a powerful weapon. Especially against men. If you play your cards out right that knight could be a powerful ally to you. You could even turn him against that master of his."

"I wonder about that." Alice said this a little gloomily and turned on her side.

"Well enough with all the discomfort and let's get you pretty for that dinner." said Marie after getting up from the bed and clapping her hands together. The younger girl gave a little smile before getting up.

And so the next day the new routine started. Every morning one of the sisters would gather Alice's clothes and bedsheets in a basket then head out with it to burn them while the other one will help the girl to get ready. Kevin could not ignore how distinctly she clothed every day. One day she would wear red, the other day light blue, than black, light green, purple, white, claret, pink, indigo, apricot, midnight blue and then some very light lilac color he didn't even know that existed. It was really stratling, the seemingly endless amount of clothes she had that is. And all of them was made from a much higher quality silk than his masters' clothes. This and the elegance of her movements and manners that she tryed to keep in secret so hard talked about a very refined upbringing, so very unlike of what she was stating about herself. But this wasn't the only strange thing concerning Alice.

One of the most strange things started the very first night. A lavish dinner was made for welcoming the girl. The table was covered with a pure white tablecloth and stainless silver cutlery adorned the beautiful porcelain dinner set. Everybody was already seated at the table when Alice arrived running a little late. She apologised quickly for her lateness and Kevin get up from his seat to help her sit down as it is proper from a gentleman. But as the girl's eyes glided over the table setting she immediately apologised that she won't be able to stay and enjoy their company as she don't feel well though she haven't looked ill. With saying that she hastily left and later that night when the master and the mistress inquired about her from the sisters they said that the young miss had a very fragile health but will be fine in no time.

This happened quite a few times in the thirteen days she spent in the Sinclair house already and everytime someone asked if she needed something or a doctor the answer was always a polite refusal. It was hard not to notice that although she sometimes missed meals when the table was set with less classy cutlery, she never got down to eat when they used silver. Kevin wondered what was her deal with that particular precious metal since she didn't got problems with the gold at all they used the night of the older girl, Florence's return.

At the same time she was extremely picky with her food. When the girl did come down to eat she usually ate very little vegetables and didn't looked very fond of sweet or sour foods, but had a nearly gluttonous apetite for meat. It didn't even matter what kind of meat it was as long as it wasn't rabbit. She avoided it exactly as much as silver. This and the nagging forebodings he had that only intensified for some mysterious reason since she arrived spured him to investigate. As he made his way for the girl's room he gathered all the other oddities around her.

The second most bizarre thing about her was that even though she weared gloves nearly all the time she never ever touched anything unless she absolutely had to and on days her hands was bare she would use a handkerchief to do so. It is needless to say that those handkerchiefs was burned too as soon as possible by her handmaids since she never allowed anyone else to touch her things either. Not the servants of the house, not the Mistress and definitely not the Young Miss. If anyone other than the siblings wanted to touch something that was hers or was on her (like that time when Emily was fascinated with a flower decoration in Alice's hair and wanted to touch it to see if it was real she jumped back at least a mile before she could reach it.)

There was also times when that cat of hers, that always followed her loyally everywhere- would shun and outright reject her. One day it would hiss at her and even scratch if she pet or even came near to it, but on other days it will come and jump onto her lap and purr while she stroked the cat's shiny black fur or it's ears on it's own accord. Kevin refused to refer to the damn thing as a 'he' since his relation with the devil's thing haven't prove to be pretty at all. Not when the stupid thing not only sniffed out the remains of his precious hidden candy stack on the first day but also gnaw into most of them and would sit before his door every morning so he could trip in it or laze in his bed with a smug expession that rivaled even it's master's. Who said it was allowed to be in his bed? Or in his room at all?

While he mused like this he arrived at Alice's door. The young knight quickly looked around to see if anybody was near. He didn't wanted to get caught while sneaking to a girl's bedroom since it was highly inappropriate more so at such a late hour.

Kevin knocked lightly on the door and when he didn't receive an answer moved fastly to the room. The first thing he noticed besides the dark was the warm air in the room. It was unusual even in a room located at the western side of the building. He half stumbled, half felt his way to the bedside table and lit the candle on it.

It took a couple of minutes for his eyes to get used to the sudden light and then he looked at the girl. She lay asleep in bed taking quick short breaths and shivers run through her body while her covers was kicked off. She looked relaxed- there was no haughty look on her face just a flush on her cheeks and he had to admit she looked kind of cute. The albino gently fixed the covers after opening the window and sat down on the bed besides her then brushed the sweaty bangs away from her forehead. Her body felt hot like her hands that time she arrived.

"Can I help you?" asked silently but sternly a voice from behind him. Kevin got up so quickly from the bed that he nearly knocked over the candle-holder. In the doorway stood one of the twins with a cloth and a bowl in her hands.

"I-I was just... ch-checking i-if she was okay!" stuttered out the man with red tinted cheeks from the embarrassment of getting caught.

"She will be if no one disturbs her and can get a good night's sleep. I'll let her know you was concerned when she wakes up." answered the woman sharply while walking over to the other side of the bed. "Now if you'll excuse me." she started to press lightly the girls forehead and cheeks with the damp cloth and the white haired man quickly escaped to his own room.

Now with two whole days later he wasn't any closer in understanding the enigma that called herself Alice Gravelle. Sure, the girl looked considerably better the following morning, but her weird demenaour only intensified after his nightly visit. Now besides of being arrogant and smart at repartee whenever they met or needed to be in the same room it seemed she made a point of going out of her way to ignore and avoid him otherwise. Not that he minded very much since he strongly feeled like he received more than enough looking down for a lifetime the previous weeks.

As he was turning to his other side in the bed waiting for sleep to finally come he heard it- someone was screaming close by. Kevin instantly jumped out of the bed, grabbed his sword and set out to the direction of the noise. He didn't need much time to notice that it came from Alice's room and opened the door.

Upon seeing what was inside the man instantly calmed down. The girl was tossing in bed asleep and shouted unintelligible words.

"Only a nightmare, huh?" the knight said gently to himself and turned to leave, but as he touched the doorknob Alice screamed _"Don't go!"_ and Kevin froze in his track and whipped back in no time to see the girl startle out of her dream and shaking with sobs as she sat on the bed, face hidden behind her hands. Out of the muffled sounds somehow he could understand one word: _Jack_.

The albino silently turned back to leave, thankful that he wasn't noticed, but somehow despite how he wanted to just get out and leave her he just couldn't. So he knocked on the door instead and closed it behind him then moved closer to Alice who desperately tried to wipe away her tears.

"You don't want this either, do you?" asked the knight after sitting down on the edge of the bed and awkwardly pat the back of the girl who in turn tensed up. He really didn't know how to deal with crying children.

"It doesn't matter what I want." answered Alice with a shaky voice and looking up with so much sadness in her eyes.

"It should."

"Miss Alice, is something the matter?" asked the stern voice from his last visit and they both jumped back startled. Fortunately the owner of the voice stayed at the hallway and Kevin was very grateful for that since he was sure he wouldn't be able to explain his presence here as last time.

"No Marie, I'm alright." said the girl with a voice so clear and strong that was surprising from someone who was crying only a short time ago.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Well, good night then."

"Night."


	4. Sin III

**Sin III**

_It starts with poisonous herbs under the craddle...  
>Then under the sheets... and inside the clothes... even mixed in the milk they fed the newborn.<br>This way the child gradually gets used to poisons.  
>Thus the child becomes a "poison princess" whose whole body is sodden with poison.<em>

_**26 days after Alice's arrival**_

"May I inquire about what is the matter, Miss Alice?" asked Marie carefully when the girl stormed into the room in a very agitated mood and plopped down on the bed. There was a scowl on Alice's face and her brows was knit together in distress. A kind of deja vu feeling washed over the twins since occurances like this became almost daily.

"I don't understand." said the girl finally. "Who and why did they want them dead? They are so nice and warm and friendly and...!"

_Oh, the Sinclairs._

"I don't know and you should not concern yourself with it either. They are in the way of whoever it was, also he or she obviously have the resources to afford such _subtle_ means in order to get rid of them without getting incriminated."

_Oh yes, "Poison Princesses" was very far from being cheap._

"Still is it really okay to just kill them for that?" she looked distant and that bothered the sisters greatly. It wasn't hard to tell that Alice got a liking to them while she tried hard to remain as emotionally distant as possible. This was dangerous. Mixing personal feelings in a mere job... A job what's failure could cost her life...

"Don't tell me you plan on abandoning your mission!" when Marie didn't got an answer right away she got panicked. "Miss Alice, this is the sole reason of your whole existence! Or have you forgotten all the indignities, the pain you felt, the times you've thrown up and cought up blood? It was all for this day! You've beared with everything for this one day and the chance of escape it brings along!"

"I-I... you are right." answered the girl finally, but without any conviction. "But how should I do it? Normally the easiest way is during sex, but that's out of the question."

"You shouldn't be picky about the means. With only four more days until your wedding you are running out of time."

"I can't and won't seduce an old man and that's final. Besides it have to look natural to not rise suspicions when we leave. That means there can't be any symptoms that would suggest poisoning and that excludes almost every plant I can access."

"Then what will you do? If you don't act soon the Shinigami will be on our trail sooner then we would've previously thought."

"There is still dogbane." said Alice sightly unsure. "It's a dangerous herb. In really small doses it is used to cure headaches, but if I raise the portion just enough not to show signs of poisoning... voila cardiac arrest." she added softly when she saw the incomprehension on her companions' faces. The girl could understand their fear. This was a hazardous plan with way too many factors that could turn out wrong. But she had to take a risk.

"And the rest?"

"That's easy because for that I can use whatever method as long as there is a convenient goodbye letter. To everyone it would look like after master Sinclair died her wife became depressed and killed herself and her daughters."

"Won't it be suspicious if they all died in four days?" asked Anne timidly. Out of the twins she was the shy one and for once Alice was grateful for that. At least she didn't voice her disagreements as often as her sister.

"That's why I'm waiting for after the marriage."

"With every respect Miss Alice, but you can't be serious! Actually marrying some..." Marie couldn't finish her sentence which probably was full of less than flattering words like usual when the knight of the Sinclair family got involved because Alice cut in impatiently. It wasn't like she hated the man, he was pretty nice the last few days and they was now pretty civil to each other.

"Within three weeks after that there will be a ball to celebrate the birthday of Florence. The master will be busy with the preparations and smuggling some extra 'decoration' on his snack will be way too easy."

"B-but...!"

"That's final." the girl said this with a kind of authorative tone that instantly silenced any objections the two might have. "I'm off to see Mrs. Klara." and with a rustling of her skirt she was off on her way.

This all happened half an hour ago. Now Alice sat with Klara and Kevin on the balcony drinking some black tea and conversing pleasantly. At least the Lady of the house was. As for her companion she strongly felt that she had enough tea and crumpets for more than a lifetime and some more. Not to mention the awkward silences that often occured on these chaperoned _'get to know you'_ times that the Lady insisted on. She was still so deep in thought that she haven't noticed the remark the older woman made to her.

"Oh my Alice-chan, you must really had to take a liking to our Kevin if you are spacing out thinking about him so early in the morning!" teased Klara with glee in her eyes and both Alice and the white haired man choked on their tea.

"I-It's nothing like that." answered the girl while desperately trying to save her dignity or what was left of it. As for the albino his face turned at least three shades darker.

"Oh, you don't have to be so shy! I'm sure you'll make a cute couple. How I envy you, being so young and peppy! And you must be very excited! I know I was when..."

For the sake of preserving her sanity a very flustered Alice chose to shut out the rest of what the woman was saying. She wondered what was with this family: she never encountered anyone who was so enthusiastic and tender and loving, not that she met many people before. But her musing was cut short with the Mistress' next statement.

"...but your traditions are a bit confusing. I mean you can't touch ANY anything?"

"Y-yes." the girl suddenly became very stiff with the way the conversation was heading.

"That's a bit hard to achieve. And it looks so strange when you use a handkerchief to touch the cutlery or a teacup. Why is there so bothersome practices anyway?"

Now this piqued the young knight's interest. He often wondered about this himself and if he knew one thing for sure about his Lady then that was that she won't stop until she hears an answer that satisfies her and now finally he will hear an answer that won't be as vague as the twins'.

"It's to avoid touching impurities." answered the girl shortly after she put down her cup.

"It's a superstition then?"

"Yes." she said with her gaze downward and luckily for her no one understood the unsaid statement: _"It's to avoid the graze of my own filth."_

The unease of the albino only increased upon hearing the brief discussion of the topic and the curt, nearly monotone responses: _answers learned in advance_. Now he was pretty sure whoever was Alice Gravelle, she wasn't what she wanted everyone to believe.

The next day Kevin was definitely sore all over. Not only did he need to technically drag Emily the whole way to the dressmaker to pick up her new dress, but for once he couldn't buy her cooperation with candy since she wanted Alice to come too and for that she had thrown the biggest tantrum he got to witness ever since he started to work in the Sinclair house. And to make matters worse he was getting very nasty glares from random passerbys.

This ultimately persuaded him to turn back and get the enigmatic brown haired girl. The result: a wasted quarter of an hour, a happy and finally cooperative Emily on one side and an uncharacteristicly willing Alice carrying a parasol and a purse on the other. But when he thought that at last his asperities ended he was proven wrong.

"Kevin is too far from Alice." the dreadful observation was made by no other than Emily who looked up expectantly at the young man.

"Miss Emily, you know we have to respect the regulations of Miss Alice's traditions." even with that said the knight still stepped closer unknowingly to the girl. "You don't want to make her uncomfortable, right?"

"But... but... you hardly ever do anything with her besides having tea! You should be more attentive to your bride!"

Okay, now why did that sound like an order and what exactly was that scary, demonic shine that appeared in the eyes of the female residents of the Sinclair house whenever he and Alice was in close vicinity?

As he was trying to come up with a good enough answer that hopefully won't end up in another wailing fit Kevin faintly heard a soft sigh from the brunette and felt something warm touch his arm. When he turned he could see that Alice linked her arm in his.

"It's okay." she answered softly upon seeing the shocked face of the albino and the creepily satisfied look on the little girl's.

He could only nod then with a _"May I?"_ the white haired man took the parasol from the girl and they resumed walking underneath it. And that earned them a delighted squeal from the little girl who than purposefully walked a few feets ahead of them. But they haven't took another ten or so steps when Alice abruptly stopped and withdrew her hands while staring down a busy side-street.

"Is something wrong?"

"N-no, I just suddenly remembered something that I forgot. I'll be right back." with that said she disappeared in the crowd leaving behind both the parasol and her surprised companions.

Alice did not have to search for long to find on the patio of a coffe shop who she was looking for. The strawberry pink haired girl sat cosily at one of the tables with two cups and waved enthaustically. The brunette quickly made her way to there and sat down while eyeing her cup full of some dark brown liquid with distrust.

"What are you doing here?" she asked finally after tasting the drink. It was bitter and the thought of exchanging it with Kevin's usual hot chocolate ran through her head immediately. What was with him and sweet things anyway? And why did he felt obligated to bring the stuff to her whenever she had trouble sleeping?

"My-my Alice-chan, Onee-san was just checking on you for Glen-sama. You sure take your time. Don't tell me you are plotting something stupid?" her voice was a bit too cheery for Alice's liking.

"Who would do something that troublesome?" was her reply and the girl stood up exactly the same time as her companion.

"Oh Onee-san is so happy you think so too!" she hugged Alice tightly. "Now she don't have to remind you: Death for betrayal." after whispering the last statement she somehow disappeared from the brunette's sight only leaving a pink, five petaled flower with a bell-like shape. Belladonna.

Alice angryly crushed the flower in her hand. So from now on Lotti will watch her. It doesn't matter. She will vanish from sight when the pinkette least expects it that she can guarantee.

It still took her more than twenty minutes to go back to her two companions she left behind. No wonder Kevin was in a foul mood now and wanted nothing else just a nice bath to soothe his aching body and get the tension out of his shoulders.

He was not really watching where he was going, but as he stepped into the bathroom he instantly realized something was wrong. Namely that he had just walked in on a very naked Alice whose back was towards him. Her brown hair was on her right shoulder, letting her pale skin be seen. But his eyes fixated on one point: her left shoulderblade. Instead of the creamy skin that should've been there like on the other side there was some kind of flower tattooed on it. A blood red, eerie spider-looking flower.

But before he could take away his gaze from it, apologise or otherwise react the girl whipped back pressing a long towel to her chest with horror on her face. It took less than a minute to register the situation in her mind then...

"Gah! Get out! Pervert!" she screamed bloody murder and started throwing at him whatever she could reach. That included a freaking handmirror.

"I'm sorry!" he tried to apologise while backing out and dodging random objects with his hands covering his eyes at the same time what was kind of difficult, but he managed somehow. Wow, they do run unwittingly into each other a lot these days.

'_And just what was that flower?'_

Half an hour later Alice clomped back to her room with worry on her face and leaving the water dripping from her hair on the floor. She never in her life (or what she could remember about it) had this brief bath and that alone alarmed Marie and Anne. If they knew something for sure then that was that Alice liked her long and relaxing baths.

"This is bad! He knows it!" this was the first thing she said after flinging open her bedroom door.

"Miss Alice?" asked Anne.

"The knight. He've seen it!" was the short and nervous answer while the girl started to walk around in small circles and bite her nails.

"Seen what?"

"The _mark_." now this was bad news. Both Anne and Marie instantly dropped whatever they was holding.

If he had seen that then he could get curious and nose into their business. Marie doesn't like where things headed in the last few days. Not only was Alice doubting what she was doing was right at all while the Shinigami and Lotti was keeping a close eye on her, but now the possibility of jeopardizing the success of their task... She had to act. And quick.

"No need to distress yourself with it. Even if he saw it, he does not know was does it mean." tried Marie to reason and somehow calm down the girl. "Our existence have been well coverted for decades now. Even if he will start to investigate, it would take him years to find out even our names. To outsiders we are nothing more than some old fairytale that no one believes in."

This had some effect since Alice considerably calmed down upon hearing this. "Even if you say that I still have to be more careful from now on. I can't afford to make any more mistakes."

"Does this mean you will act sooner, Miss Alice?" Marie didn't care anymore if her hope showed in her voice. He didn't like at all that young man her young miss was engaged to and she made no secret about her feelings.

"No. If I act now I will only prove to be suspicious. I have to somehow make him forget what he saw today."

"And how exactly will you do that if I may ask?"

* * *

><p><strong>Authoress' Note:<strong> Hope I could carry out properly my promise of including the first plot of a matchmaking Emily as one of my dear friends requested! We are heading to your favourite part you evil evil person, so stop bugging me! =) Love ya gurl but hurry up and learn English properly so you can read something other than the Hungarian rough draft! (wait, why do I use a language you don't understand?... oh well...)  
>Oh My God, I also got my very first helping suggestion, I'm so happy! I sincerely thank for that <strong>Dysfunctional Death Angel<strong> and if this story got any better then it is her merit! If not... than that proves that I fail... big time... =(  
>Every kind of aid is like oxygen to me because they point out what I lack and should improve since I'm a beginner writer and suck. So everyone who reads this be kind and let me know what do you think!<p> 


	5. Sin IV

**Sin IV**

_No. I'm not afraid either to kill or to die.  
>I forgot long ago what emotions are.<br>Because I'm a doll made especially for this day._

_**2 days later**_

"Remind me, just why the hell am I here again?" asked Kevin for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. He was sitting at a table with three other guys from his age in a very stuffed and smoky little tavern. One of them had short brown hair and the other two got long black hair. The music was a little too loud and from time to time some women with rather questionable morals would smile or wink at them. Definitely not something he will choose out of free will.

"Because you will marry tomorrow and instead of enjoying your last free night as a bachelor with your friends you was brooding at home all alone?" came the reply from his brown haired friend who was surely enjoying himself a little too much.

"I was not!"

"Yeah, right. Whatever suits you." all three of his friends started to laugh at the white haired knight's instant defensiveness. "Normally you won't be this much of a wallflower so what's been bothering you?"

"Criminals get tattoos for different crimes, right? Let us assume that you saw a woman branded with some red flower. Just what did she commit to receive one?"

"A branded woman, huh? You sure think about some strange things! Haha... Although I heard about prostitutes whose been marked with a lily, but a red flower? I've never heard of it. If it's important then you should ask a friend of mine who is a jailer and know something about things like this. Otherwise just forget about it." answered the older black haired man while ordering another round of drinks. "Speaking about girls, Mathilda told me about your betrothed. She said she's a real cutie. I'm so jealous! How come you never told us anything about her?"

"There's nothing to tell. She's just a child."

"A child? Just how old is she?"

"Thirteen." upon seeing his companions incredulous faces the albino couldn't stop his next question. "What?"

"You are viewing everything from the wrong angle as usual." responded now the younger black haired man shaking his head in disbelief. "Little girls don't remain little forever. In fact in a couple of years she will be a fine young lady."

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"What I was trying to say you idiot, is that you will have a beautiful young wife even when you will be an intolerable old bastard. Now drink or I will kick you to next week... wait, what?" with that said he was out cold mumbling something about _'hogging all the beauties'_ which made the not-so-sober group laugh again.

After this kind of a party it was no wonder Kevin got absoultely no idea how or when did he came home and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know it either, if the pain in both his sides and head was any indication. He silently thanked whatever higher power resided up in the skies when he saw that it was still pretty dark. Groaning the knight turned to his side on the bed and was surprised to see a steaming hot cup of something on the bedside table. It had a lemon-y scent and soon after drinking it his headache was gone. The albino made a mental note to thank Alice later for whatever that drink was.

Regarding Alice, he wasn't sure what to think anymore. Sure, the girl got quite an attitude and aside from her occasional sharp tongue she was pretty harmless, right? Also the brunette cared a lot more for people than she let it on. Then why was she branded like a common criminal and at such a young age none the less? Just what did she commit? Kevin just couldn't belive it, she was really nice once you could get past all that haughtiness and wit.

He sighted and with nothing else to do started to get ready for the day with a heavy heart. The white haired man still wasn't sure marrying the girl was the right thing to do, but after seeing the 'ladies' last night he had to admit reluctantly that he wasn't sure if it was such a bad choice either. He kind of got accustomed to the brunette's presence and already got trouble to imagine the lack of it which was saying something since he normally don't get accustomed to girls this quickly.

That morning was just one big blur for Alice. It was all so unreal, the hectic rush that they called a bath earlier and now standing in the middle of her room while her handmaids helped her get dressed. The procedure was so much like that day when she was taken to see Glen the first time she could remember. Taking seemingly endless hours to polish her into the finest of ladies and not forgetting even the smallest details.

The long white silk dress that flown so freely to the floor from the brunette's hips and the corsette that hugged her sides so tightly... a very grouchy Marie pulled it a little more tight, knocking out all the oxigen from her lungs only to show off more of that voluptuous curves... it was so suffocating. No, these wasn't her sides, her body at all...

Meanwhile Anne hummed a soft, yet familiar tune and even though Alice heard the words said to her, she could not understand them. She feeled so out of everything like it was some horrible dream from which she could not escape. The veil was too heavy on her head and pulled her hair. The shoes was uncomfortable as well. There was something heavy squeezing her chest and no matter how quickly or deeply she tried, she just couldn't breath although the windows was wide open, letting in the tender mid-July breeze. All the while she felt bile rise up to her throat and gulped it back, but couldn't shake down the uncomfortable feeling. There was just too much white...

"You know after today we can't be on your side anymore, right?" this was Marie's first statement to Alice the whole day.

"Yes."

"And you realize even if we don't say anything, your secret will be found out one way or another. And you will get in big trouble with Glen-sama and Mrs. Celia too." the older one of the twins said this while setting right the veil. Even though she spoke calmly, almost uninterested, her words just felt like more accusations. "There is no guarantee your plan will work either."

"I know, but I have to take the risk. I just need to buy some time."

"This madness is the ultimate giveaway the Shinigami needs to incriminate you. And yet you're still going to stay here."

"I have to."

"Why? Why can't you just give up and run far away?"

"That won't solve anything. The Shinigami and the Baskervilles will only think I abandoned my mission and will find me in no time. Then I won't be able to look for my memories as we originally planed. And what do you think Kevin will think if I ran away after he saw that damn mark?" somehow to Alice it was like suddenly the temperature in the room dropped to unimaginably low. The cold cut deeply to the young girl's bones and chest leaving an uncomfortable icy feeling.

"What does it matter what he will think?" snapped finally Marie.

It was evident the girl wanted to say something, but her body started to shake so violently that before she could come up with her reply Alice fell on her knees and started to cough fervently.

"Miss Alice!" the twins shouted while running to her side. When the girl took her hands away from her mouth she could see something red and sticky splattered across her palms. Blood. But it wasn't hers...

Overwhelming dread filled every fiber of her body and she slapped away the hands her companions offered then shrinked away screaming. It was the first time she could see it so clear... blood splashed on the ground... a black cat with a tail ending in white laying lifelessly in the red pool... a scissor dripping with red... As her wildly thumping heart slowed down she started to sob. But it only lasted a minute. Then she was back in her room, but the fear haven't passed. Not completely anyway.

Upon seeing the worried faces of the sisters Alice slowly stood up and wiped down the blood from her palms with a handkerchief. It was only out of pure luck her dress remained clean. "It's okay, I'm all right." said the brunette while collecting herself. "We have to hurry or we'll be late." with that she was already out the door leaving behind the sullied piece of cloth.

Kevin didn't want to admit it, but he was actually nervous when only 2 minutes before the start of the ceremony Alice was still nowhere to be found. He was affraid to find out that whoever that Jack was she so often cried for in her sleep somehow eloped with her leaving him standing there like a fool. The glares his bride's unsocial family (or what showed up of it) also unnerved the white haired man. It was like they was some scavenger birds sitting in a tight group on a tree waiting for some gruesome, but at the same time amusing catastrophe to occur.

His distress only ended when finally the music started and everyone quieted down. Slowly Alice stepped to the little church on the side of a long brown haired man- his father, guessed Kevin. In her hand that wasn't interlocked with the man's was a white lily bouquet.

Upon seeing her the albino felt like he'd been hit on the head with something very heavy and he was sure this had nothing to do with the party last night. Ever since they had known each other this was the first time he didn't see her as a child, but as a young lady and a very beautiful one on top of that. The way the girl was making each step walking towards him was truly mesmerizing and when she got close that sweet flowery scent wafted over to him once again making him lightheaded. He couldn't see the empty eyes of the girl.

The ceremony wasn't very fancy or long for that matter and the voice of the priest was only a silent murmur for him. He could not take his eyes away from her. She looked a little older, so mature in that dress.

The knight didn't know what overcame him but the moment they exchanged their vows and the rings he claimed her lips in a long peck. He could feel Alice tensing up with surprise for a moment like she was debating whether to push him away or not, but then her body relaxed and her eyes closed. But their moment was interrupted with the clapping and cheering of the guests (and also the loud catcalls his 'friends' was giving) and Kevin jerked back red faced with the horrible realization of what he was doing.

"I'm sorry." whispered the white haired man while proceeding to the church's heavy double doors feeling numerous gazes bore into him from the Gravelles.

"Don't be." was the only answer he got.

Reaching the place where the wedding reception was held took shorter than expected and in a convenient minute after all the congratulating she had to endure Alice slipped away from the guests.

"I wonder how much time you have now that they saw." the question came from Marie who along with her twin followed in the wake of their Mistress.

"It will be enough."

"The only reason that rascal didn't drop dead the moment he touched you is because..."

"...because I haven't consumed any poison since my consecration. I know." huffed the girl. She was not in the mood of another preach.

"Just be careful. We will wait for you in Sablier." with that the twins dropped behind and Alice turned in a corner... only to find herself face to face with the three catcalling idiots.

"Look boys what we have here!" said the brown haired one with a tone Alice didn't like. No, not at all. But when she tried to pass them by he quickly pulled her against his body and stuck his hand to her mouth and strangely she couldn't fight him off. She could hear one of them quietly mumbling _'...definitely hogging all the good ones...'_

"Don't worry missy, we won't harm you." whispered the brown haired man and his hot breath hit the delicate skin on her neck leaving an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Just playing a little prank on our dear friend."

Alice was impressed that they could smuggle her so easily out of a party with so many guests. In less than three minutes they was already running fast on the streets with the girl on the brown haired man's shoulder. They only stopped when they reached some dark building near the end of an inconspicuous alley. Alice was sure normally her gaze would've passed over the place without noticing it.

"Don't you think we went too far?" asked the older black haired one.

"It's his fault for leaving alone such beauty." came the reply from the other black haired man while they was forcing the girl inside.

Upon entering the first thing Alice noticed besides the dark and the stench of tobacco smoke was the bitter scent of alcohol. She quickly checked her surroundings once her eyes got used to the lack of light and she could see tables, chairs, some customers and underdressed girls. Great. They brought her to some low-class dump or brothel.

The brunette girl was swung to the direction of the table furthest from the door and out of sight. When she sat down they finally removed the scarf from her mouth and put some drink before her.

"Now missy, let's become great friends! I'm Adrian and that's Dorian and Gregory." they all nodded to her in greeting. "What's your name?"

Alice didn't reply and flauntingly looked away after looking them up and down scornfully. She didn't answer to any of the questions while the one-sided conversation already went on for more than fifteen minutes. Nevertheless this hadn't disheartened them and Adrian scooted closer to her. "Say, how about you put that sweet lips of yours to a better use?" his voice sounded like he was suggesting something unproper and that infuriated the girl.

"Just what the hell was you proposing to her?" said Kevin with a twitching eyebrow as his fist came down quick to the brunette man's skull.

"Ow, you sure took your sweet time. We could hardly entertain your lovely wife here." said Adrien while rubbing his hurting head.

"We are leaving." the albino gruffly took Alice's hand and started to drag her out when the three man blocked their way.

"Not so fast! We want ransom."

"Ransom? You sure have nerve for dragging her through the town to this kind of place in that dress and then making demands."

"Kevin is no fun as usual." pouted the younger black haired man, Dorian. "But if you really want the lovely lady back than you have to follow the traditions and pay the ransom."

"Fine." sighted the white haired man. "What do you want?"

"A kiss from this fine lady!" upon seeing the dangerous expression that crossed his friend's face while his hand reached for the usual place of his currently absent sword he immediately changed his mind. "How about we see how far will you go to get her back? I initiate to sell the bride at auction!"

"You can't be serious..." started Kevin but he was interrupted.

_**SLAP!**_

"Who do you think I am, some harlot you can buy or sell as you please?" the brunette girl rubbed her hand while Dorian was whining and nursing his burning red cheek.

After half an hour of calming Alice down and negotiating with his friends and even his bride the knight could finally get back in time for the meal and the first dance. Despite all of her endeavors the girl proved to be a very good dancer and not long after a guest cut in stealing the girl away. The albino didn't see her until a little more than an hour later when she tiredly plopped down beside him. He wanted to ask her something when he noticed she was looking ahead narrowing her eyes. Not too far ahead was one of the twins going in their direction carrying a tray with two glasses.

"Refreshment My Lady?" Yup, that pompous voice was definitely Marie's.

"Thank you." but when Alice was reaching for one of them she noticed Marie faintly moved the tray to make sure Kevin got the one she wanted to choose originally. It only took her a moment to process everything then snatched the glass out of the man's hand. "There's a slight crack on it and it will surely break in no time. I'm having it replaced." she said for the questioning glance he gave her and trotted away with Marie in tow.

"What the hell was you thinking? Do you have the slightest idea what big commotion it would've caused if the groom got killed with poison on his wedding day?" she hissed through gritted teeth when they got out of earshot. She immediately headed for the street and dropped both glass in the first canal she could find.

"I just thought everything will be easier for you if he was out of the way."

"He will be. But that doesn't mean he have to necessarily die either. And what are you doing here? I thought you headed back with everyone else."

"No, I haven't, but I placed your 'wedding gift' on your nightstand."

"Thank you." with that Alice headed back inside for the closing of the party.

"You can put me down already you know." said the girl tiredly when they reached the doors to their rooms. Suddenly the weight of the situation came down upon him. They was now married. Married people are sleeping in the same room. But his wife was a thirteen year old girl. Technically a child.

Kevin's mind started to race. It wasn't like he didn't like her. Quite the opposite. He was sure if she had been a little older he could've fallen for her. But actually sleeping with the girl would've been wrong for so many reasons he couldn't even count. But at the same time he didn't want to offend her with rejection. Decisions, decisions...

As he was musing like this Alice made her way nonchalantly to her own room's door. "Good night." she said before stepping inside her room and for the first time he could remember she locked the door.

Relieved and a little disappointed Kevin made his way to his own room too. He didn't understand why he feeled disappointed. He should've been happy that Alice choose to spend the night away from him right? Then why did it hurt that she not only did not desire his company, but for the first time looked distrustful of him?

Once inside Alice started to tore away the damned gripping clothes and the veil along with the pins and lily decorations from her hair and changed to her nightgown. Cheshire was nowhere to be found, but it didn't concern the girl. She took the small paper bag from the bedside table, opened it and sniffed at the dry stalks inside. The medicine-like bitter smell made her nose crunch in disgust so she quickly put the bag away and climbed into the bed. She watched the simple silver band on her finger with an unreadable expression. It wasn't anything fancy, but somehow it made her- dare she say it a little gleeful. She pulled it off and after quickly glancing on the inside of it she put it down on the bedside table, blown out the candle and shortly after a restless sleep came upon her.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> *gasp* Finally a long(er) chapter, though I'm not entirely happy about the outcome. This chappy feels a little weird...  
>Yeah I know I'm an evil person for making them marry with an 8 year gap, but- but between my parents there is an even bigger (10 years in favour of my father) gap (and we live harmonically), so maybe that's why I personally don't have much against it.<br>I don't know about other countries, but 'Stealing the bride' is a tradition on Hungarian weddings. The male friends of the groom 'steal' away the bride and they head to a nearby restaurant where they party on the bill of the groom until he could find them. =) It's a kind of an encouragement for the groom to find them ASAP... I own everyone here a confession: I messed with even my country's wedding traditions! The groom only have to win back the bride's stolen shoe (normally he have to drink champagne from it and offer the last price at the auction of the bride's dance). Also somehow I just didn't feel like messing too much with poor Kevin (and that's really uncharacteristical from me) so I leave the price (or dare) he payed for Alice to everyone's fantasy. =P  
>This story is getting a little more popular! =) And I have too much fun writing this so I will finish this for sure! Thank you dear readers for the reviews, they are a big help for me (and also warms my heart)! I'm currently working on the final version of the second part and I decided to add 3 omake chapters at the end too. =P<br>Oh and before I forget I'm seaching for someone who will be kind enough to beta this story. (And let me bother him/her with some creative questions once in a while) If anyone interested please PM me! =D  
>And yes girl, the part you've been waiting for is in the next chapter and I immediately get my ass up and start writing it so no need to drag me, thank you! XD<br>(;^^)===CT_T) Oh why God, why do you punish your faithful daughter with a merciless slave driver? T-T


	6. Sin V

**Authoress' Notes: **I'm really sorry for the long wait, I was seriously ill the last weeks! But I was still working on the story and Sin VI is already sent to beta-ing =)  
>Also from this chapter onward <strong>PearlDahlia<strong> was kind enough to beta this story! =D  
>As a matter of fact this chapter originally was not part of the story, but while writing Sin VI I noticed a huge gap in the plot that somehow previously got past me and voila! Hope you will enjoy it and thank you for the lovely comments!<br>I'm thinking about learning baranta (traditional Hungarian martial art) as well =) I'm interested in both the mounted (as we Hungarians was originally mounted archer people) and the foot branch.  
>Don't forget to R&amp;R!<p>

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><p><strong>Sin V<strong>

_When we became poison princesses, the only choice we have is to survive, somehow, in the enemy land._

"You know if you keep on dropping behind I will most definitely lose you somewhere accidentaly." Kevin lightly chided the girl. They were at Reveille's shopping street, amongst the Saturday morning crowd, browsing shops at ease. They already spent two or three hours there, but still hadn't found what they were looking for.

"I can't help it!" Alice blurted out, embarrassed. "This is my first time seeing these things."

"How so, you certainly had to be in the shopping district of your hometown." answered the knight, drawing up an eyebrow in disbelief and mild surprise.

"Not really. _I wasn't allowed to leave my room._"

That last statement alone was said with such loathing that the white haired man stopped in his tracks and looked at her curiously. It wasn't every day that the brunette let her feelings be apparent when talking about her past. Normally her tone was flat and monotone, so this wasn't an answer she had learned in advance. Interesting.

"Why?" he asked carefully. No need to scare her off when she was willingly sharing things about herself.

"I have a very fragile health, remember?" came the reply with well-masked annoyance. "I had to stay home and very few visitors was allowed."

"Then what about school?"

"I was educated at home."

"Oh. I see." Though it made sense, this still wasn't an answer he expected. Private tutors cost more than public schools. So much more that normally low class nobles couldn't afford them. It really looked like her parents had gone way out of their way to pamper her, or Alice was simply full of contradictions. Sometimes it really seemed like both.

"What about you?" inquired the girl, in a nearly inaudible voice, looking at the cobbled street before their feet with a new found interest. Kevin was thrown off by the question. Alice hadn't shown any interest in anything since she arrived.

"Pardon me?"

"You always ask me questions, but you rarely ever tell me about yourself." pouted the girl. The knight had to admit she was cute like that.

"There isn't much to tell. I went to school and learned the basic studies plus etiquette and swordsmanship." as he stopped and turned to where the girl was supposed to be walking beside him, the albino noticed that the brunette was several shops behind looking intently with a serious face at a storefront. With a sigh he made his way back to her and took her hand. "Here, this way you won't get lost." he explained with his face flushed to the girl and she nodded with equally red cheeks.

A whole two hours and at least three shops later Kevin wondered how many more dress shops he would be dragged into before his face would finally explode with embarrassment, but more importantly, if they will ever find something that Alice could agree on. This was the last shop in town that sold women's clothing and even though Alice already tried on half of their stock, she still couldn't find anything that was even a little acceptable. Damn her standards and the indecision of women. Why can't they just grab something and be happy with it?

"Why are we shopping for a dress anyway?" he asked while Alice was still in the dressing room.

"Because the next weekend will be the ball held for the birthday of Miss Florence and I have to attend as her and Miss Emily's chaperone. And I don't have anything to wear for the occasion." came the annoyed reply and a painful hiss from the curtained room. Yup, that's definitely like his luck to have a girl with seemingly endless amount of fancy clothes, but nothing to wear at a social occasion.

"Are you alright?" he asked a little worried and suddenly very thankful that he was born as a male. Just what the hell did women do when they dressed?

"It's nothing. More importantly, I heard from Mathilda that you will be present as well." was it just him or did her voice sound not only pained, but also surly just now? Nah, just his imagination, right? At least he hoped the two girls didn't get in a cat-fight. Their relationship was already strained enough as it is since last week and the last thing he needed was an all out fight between his wife and a member of the staff.

"I will be on guard duty, as always on such occasions."

"Too bad then. I was looking forward to a dance with you."

As he was trying to recover from the shock her last sentence caused from the drastic change in her demeanor that day from what it was usually like, the curtain was pulled away and Alice emerged, sending him instantly into another shock. She was very attractive in the long amethyst colored gown; it nicely highlighted her eyes and hugged tightly her sides to her hip only showing the top of her breasts than flowing freely to the ground. It even had black rose decorations and narrow straps dropped on her shoulders hiding the mark on her shoulder-blade.

"How do I look?" she asked after turning around so he could see her from every sides and Kevin could only gape. The dress, while suiting her perfectly, made her look very mature and feminine so much that anyone who did not know her could've easily believed she was already around sixteen.

"Y-You look fine." he finally managed to say after a brief pause while feeling like a complete fool. This was the same Alice, right? Then how did she manage to throw him off so? And why the hell did that familiar flowery scent wafted over from her?

"Then I want this." she replied while trotting back to the changing room, not even waiting for the assistant and emerging fully dressed in her clothes a mere moment later. "Now the only thing that's left is suitable shoes." she declared with taking his hands and already dragging him to where the shoes were... and to his surprise finding them, an amethyst colored pair from the same satin material as the dress with high heels and decorated with black lace and a rose-shaped chiseled ornament made from shiny diamond like stones, within a mere second.

"You found everything you were looking for?" Kevin asked tiredly, while they were standing at the counter. Shopping sure was exhausting with this girl.

"Yes. I already got everything else that I will need for the night." Alice answered while fishing out her wallet from her handbag.

"Let me pay for this." he said while searching for his own wallet. Gentlemen never allowed girls to pay as far as he knew. "Consider it a wedding gift, since I didn't get you anything until now." the albino quickly added, when he saw the brown haired girl's questioning look.

"No need." she said, while handing some bills to the cashier and receiving the change then walking out of the store. "I haven't gotten you anything either."

"What about the handkerchief you gave me?" the albino asked, while trying to catch up to her.

"I-It's not like I gave it to you!" she stuttered. "I just let you borrow it! So I want it back sometime. And that's nothing special, but consider it a wedding present if you like." she replied and when he finally caught up, the girl suddenly stopped and leaned closer to him. "Though if you absolutely insist you could buy me lingerie." she whispered in his ear with a wicked smirk.

"E-excuse m-me?" the white haired man managed to choke out, with his face turning the darkest red possible.

"What? It's common sense to wear the right undergarments under a dress to not ruin the look of it." after stepping back, the brunette girl answered as nonchalant as if she was talking about the weather or one of the world's perennial truths.

As the knight was yet again trying to recover and not die from embarrassment, he noticed that Alice was glaring quite nastily at the other side of the street. But upon looking to where her attention was, a bookstore with several people looking in its windows and more passing by, he could not understand what the matter was. There wasn't anything amiss or unusual there, nor with the random objects and places she gave that stare to earlier today. Strange.

His musings were cut short with a rumbling coming from the brunette's stomach and Alice quickly looked away, at a free bench close by, with burning cheeks.

"Then at least let me treat you to lunch. You haven't had breakfast and it's already past noon."

"Only if it's some tasty meat." answered the girl after measuring him with that dark, mistrustful look only he got, recently whenever he dared to propose something to or invite her somewhere.

"Then I know just the right place." He said as he started to guide her to their new destination.

A quarter from an hour later they already finished their lunch and were now watching random passerbys from the patio of a homey little restaurant, while making small talk. People's happy chatter floated to them in the sunny early afternoon. There wasn't even a trace left of the cloudy weather from morning.

It was very peaceful and tranquil until Kevin noticed that Alice was following something mistrustfully with her eyes, a young woman with strawberry pink hair to be precise. He had a feeling that he had seen the woman somewhere before, but could not remember where. He wanted to ask the brunette if everything was alright, when he heard Alice make an irritated _'tsk'_ sound and with a hurried _'Let's go somewhere else!'_ she was already pulling him away from the place.

She only slowed down when they arrived at the park. Alice quickly choose a bench half hidden by a large horse-chestnut tree and sat down on it.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to get some fresh air."

As he also sat down, Kevin wanted to point out the flaw of her logic, namely that they got plenty of fresh air out on the patio, he heard another _'tsk'_ from Alice and saw the stawberry pink haired woman from before with a pleasant and a bit bubbly smile on her face sit down across and a few meters farther on from them. Somehow the brown haired girl seemed fretful towards the woman and the albino was sure if he listened closely he would hear angry cat sounds coming from her.

With a soft, calming sigh he decided to avert her attention from the woman before all hell broke loose. "I didn't have the opportunity to thank you for it."

"Huh?" she asked absent-mindedly and not even taking a glance in his way.

"The handkerchief." he repeated. "It's got a nice scent. If I am correct it is the same as yours. What is it?"

"Rose and magnolia." and the girl still not looked at him.

With his plan miserably failing the knight choose another tactic. "Do you want to go back? It's getting pretty..." but the albino immediately shut up as he read _'What the hell is she thinking? ... shamelessly flirting like that... '_ and other seemingly random mumblings from her lips and looked at the woman.

Which was a _big_ mistake. As his eyes fell upon the strawberry pink he immediately knew why Alice was so irate. The older girl was not only eyeing him quite seductively, but was also eating her pastry so messily- dripping and licking off the filling from various parts of her upper body while never ceasing eye contact- that he suddenly got a very powerful urge to get up and offer her a handkerchief when he heard Alice hiss and the spell broke.

'_This will show her what's mine stays mine!'_ the brunette growled under her nose and abruptly turned over to Kevin, yanked him towards her, gripping his shirt and slamming her soft, warm lips on his.

Her sweet, flowery scent made it hard for him to concentrate on anything else than the brown haired girl. It started out slow and sweet, then, as Alice gasped softly when he put his hands on her back and pulled her closer to deepen the kiss, it sped up and became more heated and passionate making the girl sigh in content. Her mouth and whole body was hot and welcoming, and as they fought for dominance, it seemed like he could not get enough of it, and he could faintly hear something soft falling to the ground, but pushed it to the back of his mind.

It did not take long before they needed to break for air. When he opened his eyes, he saw the horror etched on Alice's face and it dawned on Kevin how utterly wrong this was, enjoying this. Debauchery of youth, these were the only words he could find to describe it.

A moment later the brunette girl got up and started to hurry off in some random direction, that most definitely wasn't where the Sinclair house was, leaving the albino and the newly bought outfit behind.

"My, aren't you a cute pair." commented the pinkette (whose pastry was lying forgotten on the pavement) with an astonished expression and amusement shining in her eyes at the same time. It reminded the young knight awfully of the Gravelles. So much that he could hardly answer and also nearly forgot the dress they found with so much difficulty behind.

It still took him ten minutes to catch up to the girl and another fifteen to convince her that she was heading the wrong way. But that did not change the fact that they returned in nearly complete silence, as Alice refused to talk, answer, or even listen to him and whatever he was trying to say. And to crown it all she slammed her door in his face. Again.

As soon as the brown haired girl was finally alone, she pressed her back to the door and slowly slid down until she was sitting on the floor.

"Why? Why do I care?" she questioned herself as she pressed her hand to her still wildly beating heart, then she went to put it over her lips, but she stopped and took away her hands before she could touch them. "I can still leave if I want to, right?" Alice whispered to herself while she pulled up her legs to her chest. "This means nothing." she finally got up and walked to her bed.

She watched her ring for a long time then she pulled it off slowly and put it on the nightstand. "This is ridiculous." the brunette girl declared, to no one.

Many kilometers away, however, other people was bothered with other problems.

"Do you have fears for Miss Alice, Sister?" asked Anne, as she entered Alice's old room in the tower. Marie was standing with her back to the door while packing and could not see her sister enter.

"Anne, you scared me." she replied after nearly cutting her finger off in the suitcase, out of fright.

"Are you worried, Marie?" the younger twin inquired again, as she stepped closer to the tidy little stack of things that still needed to be packed away. They had this futile conversation many times over the last weeks, but now she wouldn't let it be dropped.

"Who wouldn't be? Our Miss is running out of time and we have yet to hear from her."

"You don't think she can succeed." It was not a question.

"I just don't think she still has the drive to comply with our plans." answered the older twin while throwing a folded white nightgown on top of other garments. "She was already so unsure before we left. Who knows what that scoundrel stuffed Miss Alice's head with?"

"Haha, you really don't like our dear Kevin, do you?" laughted Anne and when she sobered up she added: "But don't worry about it. I am more than positive that isn't the case."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Have faith in her Sister, she is the princess we raised with the utmost care after all." when she did not receive an answer she continued talking on a soft voice while playing with the hem of a white underskirt. "You understand, don't you? The reason why this will be easy for her."

"Because that rascal is a pervert." came the immediate reply.

"Well, I don't know about that, but it will be an insult to our princesses if a man resisted their charms, now wouldn't it?" when she heard Marie's angry whimper Anne quickly added. "And Miss Alice is no exception. I am sure it's just a matter of time and our _loyal_ knight will be captivated by her."

Her sister's words greatly surprised Marie. They was so full of mockery aimed at the Sinclairs' young knight and that was unusual from her since Anne kept her opinions to herself most of the time. She couldn't help, but hiss out her own. "If only she appeared a little older it wouldn't take so much time! And why did they choose her in the first place? Did they want her to be damned by those cursed eyes?"

"Who knows? Maybe they was aware of the knight being a _'pervert'_ as you put it." laughted the young woman with a sweet, twinkling voice.

"Don't even joke about it! Who knows what did he done with her! For all we know he could've _**tainted**_ her all over! I swear if he put even a finger on her, I'll...!"

"But it would be wonderful if he touched her since that is exactly Miss Alice's plan..."

"WHAT?" screamed the older twin. "Anne, you can't be serious!"

"Ah, you are so easy to tease!" said the younger twin as she wiped off tears from her eyes while she was still chuckling. "But really, she didn't even need to do anything else just constantly reminding him what he can't have and what is in his reach. She only needs to send stronger signals, though not too strong because that will only have the opposite effect and scare him away..."

"What do you mean? Don't tell me she plans to..."

"It's just a waiting game." her sister cut in, calming down. "Men are such pitiful, weak creatures." she continued with a voice full of disgust. "They succumb so easily to temptation. And they can so easily mistake lust for love. Who knew we women would be grateful for this for once?"

"Who's grateful?" screeched Marie as she threw a bunch of lace gloves on top of everything. "When our Miss has been sold off to some cursed pervert..."

"I think the correct word is sent off." corrected her Anne which was strange since it was usually the other way around. "And he is not that bad."

"Do you even hear yourself? He's clearly some sick..."

"And now, do you hear _yourself_?" the young woman was now losing patience and that did not happen often. "Ever since we set off to Reveille, you've been constantly fussing over everything. Even things that are in our favor."

"What do you mean? What's in our favor?"

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed!" Discredited her younger twin, with mirth in her voice and a strange gleam in her eyes.

"Noticed what?"

"How the knight was acting." when she saw the incomprehension on Marie's face Anne continued with her explanation. "Ever since we arrived, and according to the maids of the house even before that, he hadn't fooled around with girls, no flirts, no anything. In fact he hadn't been away from the house more than necessary, not even on his days off."

"And what does that have to do with anything?"

"What I'm trying to say Sister, is that he's a very mannerly man with strong morals. And that will lead to his own downfall."

"How so?"

"Have you ever heard the saying _'Angels fall first'_?" when her twin nodded the younger girl continued. "Virtuous men fall to sin more easily than their corrupt, more experienced sort. What more he's the kind of man that won't do anything to harm his own and his master's reputation. So he won't commit adultery while he won't touch her either. What do you think just how long can he resist his young and beautiful wife while he is constantly reminded that since they are married everything is legal between them?"

Before Marie could answer they heard the wrought-iron gate of the tower creak and they started to put the traveling bags out of sight as quick and silently as possible. They was already long since finished and began pretending to dust off the suite, when the visitor entered the room.

"I see you are diligently attending to your duties." praised Celia and the twins curtseyed. Now that pleasant voice meant trouble and they was not disappointed. "But tell me where is Alice? She should've have arrived with you two."

It was time to put into use their skills of uttering lies they perfected the whole time they were covering for Alice. "We ran into a little trouble that somewhat delayed our plans." said Marie smoothly.

"Trouble. Such as?"

"Nothing worth of your concern." replied now Anne. "Miss Alice should be back in a couple of days."

"But isn't it too risky for our princesses to associate with other, normal people without _the likes of you_?"

"I assure you, there is nothing worrying. The Sinclairs aren't such high ranking nobles to be able to afford servants to help clothe other _servants_."

"Well, if you say so then I think I can be reassured." told her Celia after measuring them with a searching glare. "Keep up the good work, girls!"

When at long last she left, the twins let out a deep breath they didn't even realize they were holding and sat down on the bed.

"I wonder what she wanted this time." Marie broke the long silence finally.

"Obviously information about our Miss. If she is doing anything to compromise her mission. And _them_."

"I just don't understand why. I heard Belladonna is keeping a close eye on her."

"Lotti? I wonder why she kept quiet about Miss Alice though. There is nothing she can gain with passing over what she saw in silence."

"Who knows? For now our main business is being ready to depart when the time comes."

With that said they went back to their preparations, but none of them could concentrate on what they were doing. Now it was clear they were at the end of their time and that combined with the weeks that already passed without any word from Alice frightened them more than anything.

Sometime later, when the sisters finished their tasks and were laying in bed, Anne drew closer to her sibling. Marie was quietly sobbing like all the other nights since they returned.

"We decided this a long time ago." whispered Anne to her when she embraced her older sister tightly and stroked her long black hair. "That we will take her away from here so she can live a happy life. Do you have regrets now, Sister?"

"No." came the raspy reply and Marie wiped away her tears. "I'm just worried. That something happened to her and we cannot help."

"Don't think like that. It brings misfortune. Imagine instead what it will be like traveling freely and living like a family."

"A family?"

"Yes. I will be the kind mother, you the firm mother and Miss Alice will be our precious child."

"Child? More like a third sibling."

"Well, whatever you say. I'm fine with anything as long as we will be happy and far, far away from this damned place."

"Hush! Don't say things like that so loud!" Her sister suddenly panicked, then continued with a soft, barely audible tone. "You know the night is treacherous. Especially when the Shinigami are out for blood."

"You are right." she sleepily yawned. "Let's sleep while we can, because we have a lot of work tomorrow."

Anne wasn't surprised when she got no reply and tightened her hold on her sleeping twin and not long after she joined her happily dreaming about things she wanted to do, and places she wanted to visit in the future.


	7. Sin VI

**AN: **And this is the second chapter in two days! =)  
>While I was ill I noticed that creativity literally clout me on the head while I listen to Dalriada (previously Echo of Dalriada) songs XD Their new album came out recently and I can't stop listening to it again and again...<br>I also rewatched Magyar Vándor (Hungarian Wanderer) when I was recovering and now I can't get out it's songs from my head... Have I mentioned that I'm a sucker for films about Hungarian history (even if they are comedies)? =)

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><p><strong>Sin VI<strong>

_With this I'll finally be free.  
>I will be able to live my own life.<em>

With a quiet groan, Kevin slowly opened his eyes. His whole body hurt and he felt so tired it was as if he hadn't slept for days. As he lay there, he registered something warm near his side and wasn't surprised at all to see Alice. The girl rested her head on his bed and was soundly asleep until the young man gently patted her hair with a small smile on his face. When the brunette let out a small approving sound in her sleep and moved closer to his hand, the albino started to comb through her soft hair with his hands.

The end of July that year came with an unprecedented heat and because of that the brown haired girl discarded any form of regal hairstyle in favor of letting her hair loose and freely cascading down her back with only a thin braid on both sides of her head and some short brown locks of hair looking like cat ears. Because of the touch, she started to open her eyes and blinked tiredly a few times.

"What happened?" the knight asked rubbing his throbbing head, when he was sure Alice had woken up.

"You fell." came the reply after a yawn and his bed shifted as she hopped to sit on its side. Now that remineded him of how the hell he got in that position in the first place.

Everything started with Alice playing some game called _'cat'_ in the garden with the two young misses of the house. The Sinclair girls were standing a few meters from each other and throwing a ball that the brunette, who stood between them, needed to catch. The white haired man was more than convinced that he was delusional from the heat because as that flowery scent, that seemed to enshroud her wherever she went, wafted to him he started to notice things he previously didn't and was pretty sure he shouldn't. Like how pretty she was with her new hairstyle and looking like a cat because of it, or how cute her blush was as she jumped to catch the ball when she was out of breath.

His observation was disturbed however, when the ball got stuck in the tree and guess who needed to retrieve it. Damn, he could never say no to big puppy eyes and pouty lips. Not when there were three pairs of them. But as fate had it the branch the young knight was clinging to gave out and he fell so hard to the ground that he lost his consciousness.

"How long was I out of it?"

"A little over two hours and you didn't even fall that far." Alice said and her cleavage invaded his sight while her flowery scent filled his nostrils and his heart began to throb wildly. Her body was so close to his that he could feel her heat bare down on him as she pressed her soft lips to his forehead.

"Don't make people worry about you." she chided, nearly inaudibly, with her lips still on his forehead and her warm breath hitting his skin for a moment, but when she started to move away his hands quickly encircled her lower back and pulled back closer to his body.

"Thank you for taking care of me today." he whispered with his face buried in her shoulder.

"I-I didn't... I..." she bit on her lip and sat up quickly with burning cheeks and an embarrassed look on her face. And God damn it, did she look cute.

"Are you still afraid of me?" asked the albino seriously while sitting up and holding her gaze with his own. His eyes was so bewitching, like living flames, and the girl couldn't take hers away from them. Her eyes fluttered closed as she leant closer to him and the knight mirrored her movements but before their lips could met he jerked back with a start.

"Do you not like me?" asked the young girl with a voice that was no louder than a mutter while looking at her hands on her lap and Kevin could hear the borderline anger in it.

"It's not like that, it's just..."

After a long pregnant pause, the brunette sighed, and with a little hop she was already beside the bed again pressing her hand to her lips. "You don't have a fever, so don't laze around all day." with that said Alice was already out of the door and walking to her room, leaving only faintly her strange flowery scent behind, allowing his head to clear up a bit.

_Damn, what the hell is happening?_

As the brown haired girl passed the door to her bedroom she stopped dead in her tracks before the full-lenght mirror with large eyes. She could have sworn that for a moment she saw her own reflection in it with pure white hair and clothes.

"Go away!" the girl said without as much as a greeting while glaring at the mirror.

"You are so cruel. Before, you always allowed me to use your body. But ever since you arrived here you haven't even given me a second, nor did you share him with me. I really want to play with him too. Selfish!" her image's every word was coated in pure mirth.

"I'm not like you. I didn't come here to play."

"Such a hypocrite. Even with that said you still use your body to make him want you. Lacing your poisonous words in honey while masking your traitorous nature like a serpent. Just as you were taught to. Like a real poison princess."

"I don't want to hear that from you!"

"Tell me, why do you really do all of this? You don't even like Glen or anybody else there, nor do you have even an ounce of fidelity in you for them. Yet you are plotting this family's ruin like you were ordered to. Is it for your own selfish gain? Or is it fun betraying everyone?"

"I don't have to tell you anything!"

"Hey, between you and I, just who is the real snake?" taunted her copy, in the mirror, with her mouth pulled from ear to ear in a twisted smirk.

"Shut up!"

"As you wish. For now. See you later, my dear sister~!"

Two days later the knight of the Sinclairs' paid no mind at all to the heat as he half sat- half lay on his bed flipping through some papers with mild interest and drinking some cold juice. The papers were about all kinds of tattoos that criminals received as punishment and as a warning to others at the same time, all collected by the jailer friend of Gregory.

Honestly speaking, Kevin had already forgotten about the whole thing these past weeks until yesterday, when Adrian practically showed the stack in his face. And the reason of his forgetfulness was that his relationship with Alice suddenly took an interesting turn and he could no longer tell anymore just where exactly they stood with each other.

If the white haired knight thought that, after their awkward wedding night, they were finally getting along again then he was gravely mistaken. The following week they had hardly seen each other at all. After their wedding ceremony his presence was no longer required in further _'get to know you'_ meetings and he was finally allowed to go back to his guarding duty while Alice, being a duenna, was still mostly drinking tea and conversing with Lady Klara, Miss Emily and occasionally with Miss Florence too.

Sometimes aside from quickly dining together in silence, they hadn't met, but when they did meet she tried very hard to minimize the amount of time they spent in each other's presence. It was very uncomfortable and Kevin made countless attempts to set things somewhat right between them, when he had the time, with all the preparations going on with the incoming birthday of Miss Florence, but he was faced with a bit of a problem, namely Alice, who still locked herself in her room at nights and refused to have any kind of conversation with him. It didn't take long for the albino to figure out that the girl was afraid of him for some reason.

But the next week however, without any kind of warning, she became strangely affectionate towards him. It started with a minor cut he received while training and a maid of the house, Mathilda kindly tied it up. In turn, half an hour later Alice trotted to his bedroom, threw open the door without knocking and marched up to him with red cheeks only to mutter something he could not understand and threw a handkerchief in his face before marching out. This incident was followed with other shows the young knight could only think of as jealousy like the _'park incident'_.

During this time, the brown haired girl irregularly received flowers from an unknown sender. Always three and always the same: canterbury bell, balsamine and belladonna with the strange meaning of warning, impatience and radinat beauty. It wasn't even a pretty bouquet, but quickly became a rumor amongst the servants that she already had someone, a lover who sends them as a form of courting. Probably that Jack. It took all of his willpower to swallow down his forebodings and not go searching for and beating up the man whoever he was. The albino's increasing rage and protectiveness (and jealousy, because someone was trying to take away the girl who was supposed be _**his **_wife) was only subdued when he witnessed the moment when the flowers met their fate of being crushed under a furious and cursing Alice's shoes.

Then the brunette started willingly spending time with him and became awfully nice and dropped her smart replies and uppity behavior towards him. She also became kind of shy and so different from before that he could've sworn it was a whole different person prancing around in her body.

But whenever Kevin tried to be nice back he was immediately faced with a distrustful look or Alice reverting back to her old haughty self. It was truly alarming, the pace her emotions changed, that is. It wasn't hard to see something was troubling her and whatever it was obviously started with their wedding.

With a sigh the albino put down the notes disappointedly. There were numerous motifs in them, a good deal were various flowers, but not one of them even resembled the red spider-looking flower. If it wasn't a brand of a sin, then what was it? Tattoos in their society were unheard of, more so if it was on a woman.

He got up from the bed and silently made his way to the library of the house. The knight was relieved to find it empty and quickly searched for the botany book. When the young man found the book he hurriedly flipped it through until he found what he was looking for nearly at its end. The red flower, _Lycoris Radiata_, Spider-lily. At least now he knew what he was looking for.

But even with that the white haired man could not come closer to the solution and was considering accepting defeat and write off the tattoo as some strange womanly vanity. He checked everything already he could think of: criminal brands, secret societies, cults, everything, but his search remained futile. On his next day off however, three days later the solution came to him suddenly and from the most unexpected place.

Kevin decided that if he wanted to get close to the key of this mystery then he had to investigate a little about Alice's background. Luckily the young man mentally put down some infos about the girl from their forced tea parties for future uses. The first and most logical one he wanted to check was her birthplace, Laurier.

The young knight stepped out to the warm, sunny street from the public library's cool dim hall with a stack of books and apprehension eating him away deep down. He decided to visit his old home and made his way down the streets, observing the busy Saturday commerce. His father, who also served as a knight, already died some years ago and his mother lived with her brother-in-law ever since, the only member of his family that hadn't became a knight because of his bad health and weak physique, but became a merchant instead.

The albino was just a corner away from his destination when he noticed the gathering rainclouds. He hoped at least one thing would go right and he would arrive back to at the Sinclair house from his mother's before it started to rain.

"It is quite unusual to see you here when it's not a holiday." His mother said, upon her entrance, with a loud laugh and put down a steaming bowl of soup on the table in front of him. "And where did you leave your wife? I wanted to have the chance to finally have a womanly talk with her."

"She's working." answered Kevin with blowing on a spoonful of the hot food.

"I see. Good for you then. I made a bet with Dorian. He said she would escape within three days. I said she wouldn't until the end of the month."

"You what?" he shouted, spouting out the meal.

"No need to scream, it was just a joke. Now tell me how are things going with you?" said the woman from her place at the table. With her white hair she was very much like his son, but she had ice blue eyes. Soon they engaged in pleasant conversation that before long changed to light banter and teasing mainly on his mother's part. Even so they grazed some topics he did not want to discuss, so he took his leave sooner than he originally intended.

But as the young knight made his way to the front door, to return to the Sinclair house, he was stopped in the hall by a deep voice. "Did you think you could leave without greeting your uncle first?" said the old man before shaking hands with him. "Let's go for a little walk." they stepped out of the house and sat down on the steps. "So tell me, why the long face?"

"Why is that everyone is certain that my marriage will be a complete and utter disaster?"

"With everyone you mean my sister-in-law, right?" when he received no answer he continued. "Well, you know how she is, always expressing her concern with blunt and tactless words. No need to ruffle your temper with it." he said with a small laught. "Speaking about marriage, been anywhere nice with your wife?"

"No." the answer was curt and straight to the point.

"Soo... you had your first night as husband and wife in your boring bedroom instead of going to somewhere exciting on your honeymoon?"

"U-uncle! I haven't done anything like that with her! Besides we have a lot of work with Miss Florence's birthday preparations..." his embarrassed banter was interrupted with a resigned sigh.

"I take it you hadn't courted her either. Why not?"

"She's a child."

"No, she is not. She is your wife. Don't misunderstand me. Respecting each other is crucial in order to a working relationship. But there's nothing wrong with loving one's wife either. If you cannot do that you will end up like your father and live a miserable life in a marriage that only rests on duty."

"Why are you giving me marriage advice?"

"Because you look like you need some." said his uncle with a confident smile. "Now tell me about something. What is your sudden interest with criminal marks?"

"A friend of mine became acquainted with a strange woman marked with a red flower and it pesters him. That's all."

"A red flower, you say?"

"Yes, this one." he said taking out and opening the book he borrowed from the library at the red spider-looking flower. The old man took it in his hands. But as his eyes scanned over the letters he paled. Red spider-lily. Lycoris radiata. Fatal.

"Whoever that acquaintance of yours is, he needs to stay away from that woman."

"Why?"

"Because he is in grave danger. Listen well Kevin. I heard some old rumors from my father about women with flower tattoos, poisonous flowers. Women that burn their clothes and stay away from anything that could expose them. They are highly skilled assassins. Every fluid in their body is poison, thus the name 'Poison Princesses'."

It was already way after sunset when the white haired knight made his way back to the Sinclair house. The streets were dark and only a few people were still out, but he paid no mind to them. More important things occupied his mind. Kevin could not believe what he heard that afternoon and who would? It was all so farfetched. But at the same time it perfectly explained every strange thing and habit of Alice: why she avoided silver at all costs, a material known to darken when touching poison, why didn't she allow anyone to touch her things, and why she burned her clothes.

Hell it even explained her cat's changing attitude towards his keeper. Come to think of it, several weeks already passed since the albino had last seen that spawn of Satan. That is until he (not wanting to wake up the house's residents with his rather late coming home) decided to simply skip over the fence and his landing on something suspiciously soft was followed with a loud and painful _meow_. Just why was that demon always under his feet at the most inconvenient times?

With a quiet _'pst!'_ hissed at the cat he resumed his sneaking to the house along with his thinking. But being a member of some assassin organization that only exists in rumors? Still it explained everything so perfectly that unnerved him. He had to make sure... Because it couldn't be this easy, right? So he thought through everything again in a frenzy, searching for something, anything that would prove the girl innocent.

That afternoon, when he went to the public library, he reasearched her hometown a little. As he thought, it was a little, insignificant harbor and fishing town on the western coast, near Holder. Nothing out of the ordinary, considering a lower noble family. The strange thing however was that from the extremely short list of its nobles, the Gravelle family was completely missing.

The next shocking thing came upon checking the country's complete list of noble families. Sure, the Gravelle family this time appeared, but from somewhere entirely different. The problem wasn't this. Rarely do nobles change their living place, sometimes moving to the more peaceful countryside, but not this time. The Gravelles were listed as located in the old capital of nobles- Sablier. Not only that, but they were listed amongst the casualities. The family died out during the Tragedy of Sablier...

That night, no matter what, Alice could not feel at ease. Her misgivings started as soon as she opened her eyes that day and only intensified as the day progressed.

"Che, figures." the brown haired girl said to no one in particular. It was already past ten that evening and still no trace of a certain young knight. But if she wanted to make this plan work, timing must be perfect. Perfect to start and end it when he is still asleep. Well, not that it mattered anymore since he wasn't even home yet. Probably found himself some slut to share a bed with tonight. Somehow even the thought of that made her furious. "Why do I even care?" the brunette asked, it was not the first time, as she nervously played with the ring on her finger. The same ring that now felt heavy and burned for some reason.

Alice picked up a tray and silently stepped out of the room. She hoped it would be over soon, because she did not want to do this. No matter what the girl said to herself, it just felt wrong. To kill the people that were friendly to her and trusted her. The people she came to like.

'_Am I not the same as those women who sell their bodies? Am I any different from them at all?'_

Kevin was so engrossed in his musings and was frantically searching for something that would counter this unbelievable revelation, that he only noticed that he arrived on the floor where his room was located when he heard a door nearby silently open. In the dark he could make out a small figure nearing to him.

"What are you doing up so late?" he asked. He was only a few feet away in the light that was cast by a burning candle, forgotten on a little side table.

"Don't just randomly appear in the dark, I nearly dropped the tray. Besides I could ask you the same. Where were you?" responded Alice, stopping before him with a tray in her hands holding various little plates and a cup of some dark liquid.

"Who is it for?" he continued without answering while eyeing the various confectionaries with some dark green plant stalks on top. No silver.

"The master. He asked for refreshments and..." she couldn't finish her sentence since Kevin grabbed her hand and pulled her in her own room. With the same quick movement he closed the door and pushed the girl against it roughly. With a soft crash the tray, cup and plates fell down between them spilling their contents on the floor. "Stop it! It hurts!"

"Who are you kidding? You are not the master's attendant."

"It's not like I wanted it either, but I was asked to do it since Edith is away until tomorrow." Alice answered, anger silently boiling, as she crouched down and started to pick up the pieces of the shattered tableware. "Thanks to you, now I must make replacements as well as clean up this mess."

"What was in this cup? It's not the master's usual drink." the young knight inquired, while helping her collecting the shards.

"Just some herbal tea!" she said a little too quickly and snatched the broken cup from his hands. "To take away insomnia and headache."

"Herbal tea, you say." he continued, carefully watching her. "And the decoration on the pastries? I haven't seen anything like that."

"I don't have to tell you anything!" Alice defended herself, now positively furious. "If I say those are harmless herbs then they are!"

"Ahuh, then are you saying that I could feed that to your cat?" he pressed further without taking his eyes off her. Now that question was a low blow and he knew that instantly when Alice bit her lower lip and didn't answer, just knit her eyebrows together and glared at him, with a searching look as if measuring if he would believe anything other than the truth. He could see the gears turning in her head as she frantically searched for an answer. "That's what I thought."

He quickly stood up and shoved the girl to the bed. For a moment he just stood there, silently looking over her with a doubtful look. It made the girl uncomfortable. He then hovered over her, trapping the brunette girl between his body and the mattress. After a short pause, he kissed her, forcing his tongue in her mouth. Alice's heart sped up and she could taste the unmistakable taste of alcohol.

"You drank." she stated breathlessly, when they broke for air. That didn't hinder him in the least for going for her neck, making the girl's breath came out quick and shallow.

"Maybe." he replied without ceasing his assault. His kisses was sweet at first then as he proceeded higher they became more rough and left a hot feeling in her stomach. She could not stay as still or silent, she wanted this, shivering with little sighs and whimpers escaping her lips. Still, every fiber in her body screamed at her to say no and make it stop, while dominated like this gave her some inexplicable, twisted pleasure.

"Stop it!" her mouth could only form the words when she felt a sharp pain in her neck and a lick soon after.

"Was this not why you were sent here?" he said without stopping, but now going lower with his kisses. Just as he was brushing away the cloth to free her shoulder, he felt the girl's hands fumbling with the buttons of his shirt. He quickly grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head with only one hand, scaring Alice, who started to squirm underneath him. Some of his weight was rested on that hand, making her hands go numb. Bastard.

"I know what you are." he whispered in her ear and the girl instantly froze. The knight used that moment to gently coax her legs open, taking her left leg in his hand and bringing it up to his hip. Panic ran through her as he pulled down her stocking painfully slowly, then started to slowly stroke up from her ankle and pulling her skirt up with it. "You know you can stop me if you want."

Alice truly wanted to, but as his feather light fingers brushed over the delicate skin at the back of her knee, her breath hitched and he used that instant to recapture her mouth in another deep kiss that had a faint metallic taste while his hand roamed higher. But as he reached the middle of her bare tight Alice became motionless and he smiled into the kiss as he retracted his tongue as well as letting go of her hands. His fingers danced on the hem of her garter then with a quick motion he reached under her skirt, grabbed and threw something out with one hand. With a semi loud _'thud'_ a small dagger stuck to the door.

"Now let us talk honestly. Who are you and who sent you?" he said, righting himself on the bed.

"Are you some kind of idiot or did you hit your head in something again? I'm Alice Gravelle and..." Alice answered while quickly straightening her clothes then rubbing her wrists.

"Don't even start that and this time I want the complete truth."

The brunette girl remained silent and they engaged in a glaring contest that neither of them were willing to lose. "Prostitute assassins with a body made of poison. That's not something you see everyday." It was Kevin who broke the uncomfortable silence that settled between them. "The one thing I don't understand is if you are one of them then why am I still alive?"

"You know nothing about me."

"True. But I know what you are not. Where is the real Alice Gravelle? Did you kill her?"

"There is no Alice Gravelle." the girl said finally. "That's a false name I was given when coming here."

"Who sent you here and why?"

"I don't know who the client was, but apparently your master is in the way of some wealthier man and his business' expanding."

"So you kill for money? That's low."

"No. I want my freedom and memories."

"The freedom part I could understand, but memories?"

"Yes, I woke up without memories, but I was able to realize they are scattered in this land so I want to collect them. But I never wanted to cause anyone harm, I just..."

"How badly do you want me to believe that?" interrupted the albino with a sigh, massaging the bridge of his nose. "You are lucky that you are still a child, because otherwise I would've killed you right here." he noted it with a strange pleasure of seeing the girl flinch in fear.

"You have to believe it when I say..."

"Save it." The man cut in again. "You will remain here until I decide how to deal with you. In the meantime you will be on your best behavior since I will keep a close eye on you. One wrong step and you will regret it. Got that?"

"Crystal clear." answered the girl.

"Then I will take this." said the man. He pulled the dagger out of the wooden door, then left the room.

The brunette was furious that he didn't even hear her out and her eyes began to sting. She could barely make it to the open window with all the hot tears in her eyes that she refused to release. Alice took quick deep breaths, but that didn't calm her down at all and a moment later she whipped around and threw her ring at the wall with an angry whimper before collapsing into a crying mess on the floor.

_No, she was not in the least different from them._

A lone woman hurried through the dark corridors of an old mansion with firm steps. The anxiety she felt the last few weeks clenched her heart even when she knocked on the door and stepped inside the study.

"You wanted to see me, Glen-sama?" she said after curtseying.

"Celia. Our allies are impatient about the Sinclairs. Is the girl we sent still there?"

"Yes, my lord, she took her position six weeks ago, but communications broke with her soon after. Two weeks ago her maidservants came back as planned, but she wasn't with them and she still needs to get in contact."

"Is she still in Reveille?"

"Most definitely. Belladonna got into contact with her two weeks ago."

"Send the Shinigami after her. Kill the Sinclairs and don't leave any witnesses. We cannot allow our return to come into the open. It would greatly hinder our plans."

"What about Lycoris?"

"Kill her along with them."

"B-but I thought she is needed to... she is your own..." she quickly shut up when she saw the indifference on the man's face.

"She got her chance to finish them off. The fact that they are still alive even after this much time proves that she turned into a traitor. And there is nothing more dangerous or annoying than a puppet that refuses to obey."


	8. Sin VII

**Authoress' Notes: **...and proven that I'm not dead...yet *hides in fear* ...I'm such a bastard...  
>I'm so sorry everyone for the late update! And things will only get worse! =( Right now I'm terribly busy and tired, but I'm doing my best to finish the next chapter until autumn holiday... and that's in... holy freakin'! Three weeks! I have to hurry! =)<br>This chapter is not beta-ed, because my beta is away (? - yeah, I fail at stalking) and I just got impatient and posted it anyway...  
>An important clue about this chapter is as a foreign friend of mine once said: <em>"Never ever trust the seeming meaning of Hungarian sentences."<em> Yup, in the original version of that part of the chappy I deliberately used easily misunderstandable expressions so Kevin did not know what they were talking about until the last sentence... and then I could not translate it well D: so I rewrited it... again... and again... anyways...  
>Wow... I'm so happy that this many people reads (and likes) this story! This is much more than I originally thought would be interested! I sincerely thank each and every reader, silent and reviewing alike! And the ones who faved! =D<br>I also got an interesting question from **_Vivace _**about why did I mention Oz being sent to the Abyss in the very first chapter and that's because I wanted to place the story in time (yet again deliberately near to when in PH Kevin was sent to Abyss) and the other reason was... I'll leave that as a cliffhanger for now XD  
>Oh, before I forget I put up a poll, so please spare some time and answer it!<br>Read and review and also ask me anything you want to know, I'm more than happy to answer!  
>And now onwards with the chappy...<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Sin VII<strong>

_It will be alright.  
>I will find some way to escape.<em>

_**Reveille – Approximately seven weeks since Alice's arrival**_

_The sun shone brightly through the clear glasses of the many gothic windows that adorned the carefully decorated room and birds sang their songs happily outside on that beautiful summer day under the cloudless blue sky. The serenity of that time was only interrupted by painful hisses coming repetitively from the room._

"_I know you don't like this, but for once bear with it." instructed a stern voice to her companion. The middle aged woman was in the middle of mercilessly unknotting the many tangles in the hair of the brunette girl and arranging her long tresses in a proper hairdo._

"_Hey, Granny Celia... what day is it today?" asked the girl slowly turning around after a particularly pained hiss. Her amethyst eyes betrayed nothing except curiousity and the older women put down the hairbrush with a soft, resigned sigh like she was tired from the question that was asked every time she visited the young girl._

"_Will it be any help for you Alice, to know that while on a mission?" she asked back for what seemed like the thousandth time and it well could have been._

"_...Guess not..." answered Alice after a short pause and turned back sullenly. Celia grabbed the hairbrush again and resumed her fight with the unruly locks of hair in silence._

"_This won't do..." this time the silence was broken by the stern woman. "Your hair is too long and heavy for nearly all decent styles. It would be best to cut it shorter."_

"_No. I like it this way." objected the brown haired girl and with a harsh tug pulled out the ridiculous amount of bobby pins from her hair freeing her long locks from their forced posture._

"_But it stands out too much." when she saw that this explanation did not convince her, Celia continued with her reasoning. "I know it makes you cute and physical attractiveness is an important asset when you are faced with men, but it is also true and more important to not leave any impression in anyone when it is time to leave. When you are covering up any traces that leads to you it not only should be like you wasn't there at all, but also that you never existed in the first place. Ever."_

"_I know it already. You tell me this every time." pouted Alice and let her companion finish the removing of the offending hair accessories, but kept a close eye on the scissors that laid innocently on the dresser. There was no way she will allow that piece of junk anywhere near her head._

"_You are a very beautiful girl Alice, but you know unlike men, women only worth less with each passing year." the woman changed the topic suddenly after finally getting rid of the last pin, then grabbed the younger girl's chin gently and turned her face towards her. Her voice was melancholy and the woman's eyes looked distant as if a faraway memory came to her mind while she spoke, but suddenly Celia regained her former power. "That's why on a mission you have to seize every opportunity to get what you want. And for that you need everyone who share the same purposes, it's besides the point even if it is out of interest or calculation if they take sides with you. But at the same time you have to be very careful not to let anyone see through your intentions." she slowly draw her thumb across the lower lip of the girl making her shiver from the gesture and the sudden powerful and strict tone the older woman's voice got. If Alice knew one thing for sure, it was that Celia was more dangerous than she let on and she had to be careful with her. "Remember this well: men are pitiable little creatures who cannot see past their own lives, that's why they are easily deceived by a well-directed lie. And with fighting amongst each other more than one met their end..."_

Alice woke up with a start only to find herself tired and on the floor under her window as the sky was gradually turning to a lighter gray. She could not sleep for a long time that night. After the brunette finally settled down enough to stop crying, she just laid on the floor quiet and unmoving and no matter how much she forced herself, sleep just wouldn't come upon her. The brown haired girl felt so numb and out of everything as if she somehow fell out of reality itself and as she listened to the dash of the raindrops on the windowsill, Alice couldn't tell exactly how much time had passed like that or when did the rain start.

Never in her life did she felt so humiliated like then and that made her angry like nothing else ever did. Not only was everything over and with that her chance to escape gone, but her body also betrayed her- at the most inconvenient time none the less. The knight was as ignorant about her nature as drunk that night. He knew what to search for... If only she would acted sooner...

If only she could've stopped him before he found that dagger, the only thing that was proof of her betrayal... Then she could've still made everyone believe that the poisonous treats were merely a small slip up caused by tiredness... then she would still have a chance. Or would she?

Well, it doesn't mattered anymore. For some reason that thought imbued her with some strange placidity. Because even if things was not like how she had planned at all, but finally everything was over. There was no more need to pretend or to tell lies.

With great effort the brunette pulled herself up from the floor into a sitting position and leant on the wall under the window. Her body was sore and numb all over as well as her clothes damp from lying motionless under the open window in the rain.

As she sat there shivering from the cool early dawn breeze and listening to the lively morning birds singing happily to celebrate the start of a new day, the brunette heard the bells of a nearby church solemnly toll six times. That meant it was six in the morning. But as the last ring faded into the distance a tinkling giggle drifted to her ears.

"Hey, I told you this will happen, haven't I? No matter what you are doing, you always end up being alone."

"Don't talk to me! You are annoying." said Alice with a hoarse voice from the lack of use. She did not wanted to hear the all too familiar conversation and what was coming next.

"No one wants you. Even Marie and Anne left you. Wouldn't it been better if you had never been born?" upon hearing this and the gleeful way it was said the brown haired girl tensed. And there it was, that cursed words. Just why was they so nostalgic to her like someone else had said them too at some long forgotten time?

"Shut up!"

"Hey, why? Why are you _'Alice'_? Aren't you the..."

After that Alice could not tell how much more time went by in sweet silence until her door opened and a reserved voice pulled her out from her ruminations.

"I really hope you didn't thought that our little conversation is over." said the albino as he came into the room with stepping over the remainders of last night that was still on the floor, but without asking for permission or as much as a greeting and frowned when he noticed the shards of the shattered mirror not far from the broken tableware. He was very pale and dark circles was under his eyes from lack of sleep.

The brown haired girl was surprised that he was actually up and in his best clothes none the less as she could hear him throw up all night. So even after years of keeping clear from poisons it wasn't that harmless to touch her after all. And this thought alone gave her back the confidence she lost a couple of hours ago.

"But that has to wait as the Lady requested you to accompany her." his tone bespoke more than clearly what the young knight thought about that. When he received no other answer than a blank stare the albino made his way to the door, but before stepping out to the hallway he turned back briefly. "I advise you to hurry as you have eight minutes to get ready."

When he was out of the room Alice stood up slowly and grabbed the windowsill, because her shaky legs treatened with giving out. She closed her eyes and waited for the sudden feeling of nausea and dizziness to pass. Strangely enough it didn't even last more than a split second and after grabbing a few things the brunette quickly proceeded to the bathroom.

It felt really strange, since this was the first time she took such a quick bath- not longer than three minutes, then she started to dry her body, but as the brown haired girl caught sight of herself in the mirror above the sink, she dropped her towel. Not only did she looked like someone who just recently recovered from a serious illness with being very pale and tired-looking, but with her hair pinned up to avoid it getting wet she could see the angry red blotches that varyed so greatly from her porcelain white skin and the small scar somewhere around the middle of the right side of her neck. Upon seeing this Alice could only came to the earlier statement that the white haired man was a real bastard.

Her cold fingers slowly passed over the scar as the brunette thought over her opinions. This was by no means something she could cover up with make-up or powder or would let others to see as it would only cause some unwanted attention and talks. There was also no way her hair would cover it up safely. That meant she had to wear a choker and pray that no one will notice. Great.

However, as she bent down for her towel with an angry huff, a sharp pain in her body made her right herself and she put her hand on her stomach. "Yeah, I know. Don't worry, I will feed you something soon." she said while rubbing her belly, but in reality she was far from hungry.

After hastily glancing on the grandfather clock that stood in the hallway Alice returned to her room and wasn't at all surprised to see him there sitting on a chair near the door playing with and testing her dagger. "If you are wondering, I cleaned up the mess." Kevin said exhausted. "The only thing I don't know is how to get rid of that _delicacies_ safely."

"You could eat it anytime... or just burn them." the girl quickly added when she saw his deathly glare, but she had done nothing to hide her increasing rage. Just how much more will he make her stand before him and his cutting gaze in only a towel? Well, it doesn't mattered since Alice decided to promptly ignore the white haired knight and went to her wardrobe and rummaged among her clothes for something to wear.

"You know, you could've moved far more freer if you took care of me beforehand, which brings us back to my earlier question: why didn't you killed me?"

"You wasn't on the list." the brunette said softly after stopping briefly then she continued her quest to find something appropriate for an occasion she knew nothing about or could care less.

"Is that so? Or is it that you just couldn't do it even if you had tried? Because I think you are far less poisonous than you think you are." the knight stated with a serious look that was at the same time interrogating and challenging which made him appear a lot more older and menacing than he really was and Alice had to use all of her willpower to not start searching for an escape route or a hiding spot because of its silent power. When she finally was able to compose herself she marched up to him and lowered herself until she was on eye level and only a few centimeters away.

"You are more than welcome to find out for yourself if that is true or not." the brown haired girl fired back with an equally challenging look in her eyes and a confident little smile on her face. Unfortunately the overall effect was ruined when her towel was slipping down dangerously low, so she quickly set it right, but as the brunette was righting herself up Kevin grabbed her wrist and pulled her back closer to him so quickly that Alice nearly bashed her head in the wall.

"A very... _**tempting**_ offer _my dear_, but unfortunately I have to decline." the albino said with a strange half smile that was mocking and predatory at the same time as he inhaled in deeply her scent. The brunette immediately staggered back when he finally released her and the knight went back to play with the dagger with the sweet knowledge that this round was winned by him. "Even though this little toy is unusually sharp no matter how I look at it, you couldn't possibly kill anyone with it. It would only break in half. And it's not even poisoned." he said then looked up at her again after a few minutes.

"Would you look away? I'm trying to get dressed." she hissed out now positively loosing all her patience.

"Go ahead." the young man answered uninterestedly then went back to play with the small weapon and Alice took a quick calming breath then started to dress. At least he had the decency to look away while she was struggling with her undergarments. "You need help with that?" he asked when for the fifth time she could not tie her corsette tight enough.

"You want to help me or just simply want to know what can I hide in it?" the brunette said annoyed. _'Just how obvious could he get?'_ she thought when instead of answering the albino only shruged. "Don't worry I'm not that stupid to adjust weapons while I'm under _watch_."

"I figured out as much." he said looking up just in time to see the girl finally defeat the monstrosity that was called a woman's undergarments then quickly and smoothly get into some clothes she quickly choose then sat down before the dresser, picked up the hairbrush and proceed to comb out her long brown locks.

"You know I was up all night thinking about how to deal with you without causing any scandal." said the albino knight finally and Alice put down the brush and observed him carefully in the mirror as he got up and walked to the girl without taking his eyes away from her. When Kevin was at the back of the girl, he held out his palm open before her with her ring on it. "Put it up. You will act as if nothing had happened." he said upon noticing the incomprehension on her face. Just when did he picked up that small piece of jewellery?

"Why?" she asked after finally turning over to face him.

"Because I highly doubt you are the only one your _'client'_ will send after the master, so as an assurance and a warning to the others you will be my lovely hostage."

"Hostage?" Alice chuckled darkly."If I were you I would be not so sure that they give a damn about me."

It was evident with the way the white haired man was looking at her that he wanted to ask what did she mean with that when the grandfather clock stroked two times signaling that it was already half past nine and with that the eight minutes was over.

"You might want to bring that with you." he nodded towards the girl's black parasol as the brunette walked past him to get out of the room, but after taking a quick glance out of the window she turned back and grabbed it without a word.

"Alice-chan, are you alright? You look very pale."

The observation was made by none other than the lady of the house, Klara, as soon as they descended down the stairs hand in hand with Kevin, and the girl took a quick glance at herself in the mirror that was hunged up in the living room above the hearth. The moment she saw her reflection she was very grateful that Celia was nowhere near to scold her because Alice was sure the older woman would have her head.

The dark grey dress that she had on looked more than disadvantegous on her because it made her complexion unhealthily pale as well as making her look very thin and her eyes dull like someone who was gravely ill or a moving corpse. It was anything but flattering.

"I'm sure it's nothing worth your concern, Milady." answered quickly the knight for the brunette and tightened his hold on her hand in warning. He really wanted her to go along with this, didn't he? Well, two can play that game.

"I'm fine. I just need some fresh air, that's all." answered the girl after giving a malicious litte smile to Kevin.

"You don't look very healthy though." said Klara in deep thought, then clapped her hands. "Oh, I know! How about instead of going with the carriage we take a little walk?"

"I don't think that's..." started the albino after mustering up and sending Alice the nastiest glare he could manage, but he was interrupted.

"Oh, come on girls, it will be fun!" exclaimed Klara with so much enthusiasm that was freakisly strange on a Sunday morning and the albino knight's brow instantly twitched. Just what part of him looked like a girl?

But his torment did not end there. No, since what Lady Klara took into her head, she always pushes it through no matter what it was. So it really did not took him by surpirse at all that after only five minutes they was already walking on the quiet streets heading to the town's centre, Klara and her daughters a few steps ahead from Kevin and Alice in order to give the two some "privacy" for whatever reason that was beyond him.

Unfortunately that did not prevent him from hearing the silent and painful hisses that the three Sinclair females tried very hard to hide. Oh yes, he knew that pretty shoes and walking did not agree with each other at all, that's why the white haired man secretly made arrangements with the driver to pick them up afterwards. That reminded him that Alice did not utter the tiniest sound of discomfort the whole time and upon taking a quick glance at the girl he saw that she unlike the other three was not only not in the least at pain, but also walked merrily beside him.

Strange, shouldn't she whine already about the shoes pinching or something? With shifting his eyes he could state two things: she was indeed wearing pretty (and probably uncomfortable) shoes and was not bothered by it in the least... Just what the hell was this girl made of? And not only that, but the heavy flowery scent that always surrounded her was missing too, and if nothing else, the albino was grateful that he could think straight for a change.

"Are you sure it's okay to leave your master alone?" declared the girl suddenly and looked at the young man just in time to catch him take a quick glance at her.

"No one's stupid enough to assault someone in his home in broad daylight." answered the knight with a tone of matter of fact that left no room for further argument.

"If that's what you want to believe..." she said facing forward and was very sullen with the fact that he was right and the sun was already shining brightly as if the rainfall last night never happend in the first place. _"The poison princess is used only once."_ she added silently and the white haired man stopped suddenly in his tracks and with a swift motion made her face him while hiding them behind the parasol.

"Meaning?" the knight asked with narrowed eyes and they could faintly hear Emily squeal with delightment and exclaim excitedly: _'Aww... Mom, they are doing it!'_

"They definitely won't bother with something that failed already. They will dispatch something more frightening: Shinigamies." Alice explained without being bothered by the noises of an overly happy little girl and her mother trying to persuade her to 'act properly and mind her own business'.

"The legendary death gods from the folktales?" Kevin asked with drawing up an eyebrow and skepticism lacing his every word.

"No, previous poison princes who specialize in fight and tracking."

"Princes?"

"What, you thought all of our targets were men?" the brunette said with a sneer.

"You are bluffing." he answered with a lot less confidence and set right the parasol then continued on their way.

Fifteen painfully slow minutes and exactly as much silent, painful cries later the group of five reached their destination, the church in Reveille's downtown and while Emily happily listed everything she knew about the place, even the most trivial things, Alice tried very hard to not only shut out her voice completely, but also hide her grimace.

Although she was introduced to the various religions of the country and their main points before her departure, the brunette still did not see what was all the fuss about as she lived all her life without this 'religion' thing and was perfectly content. But both Celia and Marie stressed its importance in 'normal' society so she took the effort and actually tried to understand it... only to reach the conclusion that it was stupid and useless. And highly excluding as each and every one propageted themself as the one and only right one while none of them gave any clear answer to that if this so called 'God' or whatever existed, who created and loved everything, then why did he allow certain bad things to happen? Why didn't he do something to avert them?

Her teological debate was cut short when they entered the nave of the building and she was met with the ornately painted walls and ceiling, the many statues and flower decorations, the carved benches and the rose windows that painted the inflowing light with many colours and gave the place a mysterious and also reverent atmosphere.

Honestly speaking, Alice hated the place upon first glance. The excessive decorations only overwhelmed her, but their meaning could not reach her. She much more preferred the modest little chapel with its homely air where her marriage ceremony with the white haired knight was held.

With all her musings the brown haired girl did not notice where they was going until she was ushered to sit on one of the benches and she was very sure it was after some silent argument with Emily since not only was she sitting next to the lively girl, but the youngest Sinclair girl was going out of her way to ignore Kevin (and strangely enough vice versa) and the brunette was pretty sure otherwise the knight would never ever allow her anywhere near the Sinclairs.

And thus began what probably was the most boring two hours of Alice's life. Ever. After listening through a long speach about divine justice and love, some singing and praying, the girl was sitting in the carriage and looking out of the window disinterestedly where she could not avoid hearing some of the newest gossips about who was caught with who doing what, some upcoming events and whatnot. And it only got worse, beacuse she just had to scrach her neck absentmindedly and draw the attention to herself, didn't she? The girl nearly said an indignant 'What?' when she noticed that everyone was looking at her strangely until it occured to her that her neck was uncovered. Oh no...

"Alice, you have something on your neck." And that Florence girl just had to point it out. Think fast... think fast...

"It must've been a mosquito bite I scrached."

"But..."

"It really is that. Please pay no mind to it." the brown haired girl quickly cut in and covered the telltale spots with her hair. Out of the corner of her eye she could see, that Kevin was trying very hard to sink in deeper the seat and became invisible as much as possible when the questioning looks shifted onto him.

"Yes, that must be it." And although no one looked convinced, the matter was not pursued any longer.

After lunch Alice was confronted with the fact that her work assignment not only radically changed, but it also became the exact same as a certain white haired knight's she knew. And it was incredibly stupid because her 'services' was only needed on weekdays and rarely on weekends if one of the Sinclair women requested her presence at tea parties or Emily invited her to play and otherwise she was free. Now the brunette only had one day off in a month not including sick leave, but her workdays did not increase. This meant seven days every month without anything to do and she could not leave the house either. Great. It was no secret whose merit this was and the question ran through of the brown haired girl's mind that just how far exactly was he willing to take this in a few hours.

As she was wondering what she could do on such empty, but not free days like that Sunday was, Alice picked up on light footsteps not too far behind her, so she stopped and took a deep breath. "Fine, I'm under constant surveillance, I get it. And I'm nowhere near any of the Sinclairs either. Will you leave me alone now?"

"Don't flatter yourself, _my beloved_." Ah, that biting tone again. "I merely had some chores on this floor."

"Oh? And what exactly was you doing at the servants' rooms?" the girl inquired smartly. She was very pleased with herself since his room was on the second floor near the guestrooms for safety reasons (or so she was told on one of the first days the brunette was here) and she received a room near his, what more they was now on the third floor, where only the servants' quarters was located, so he had virtually no reason to be here. It looked like the white haired man was aware of this too, because he wasted no time with his reply.

"None of your damn business." Wow, this was the first time she heard him say something that he would any other day classify as a filthy (or at least impolite) word then Kevin turned around and was on his way again silently fuming. Alice could only smile in victory as she did not see him again until supper. Or more accurately it was he who did not see her at supper, since she skipped it...

"Lady Alice!"

At first said girl did not hear that someone was calling for her and continued on her way in silence. She was in a very foul mood and its cause was none other that a little while ago she yet again caught the albino knight sneaking behind her which was ridiculous in the brown haired girl's view since he already searched her room over and confiscated everything the white haired man deemed even a little dangerous to the Sinclairs so it was completely pointless to further keep this close an eye on her. And when she told him this they yet again was at each other's throat in no time and for some strange reason this new development greatly bothered her. So much that she was actually losing sleep over it.

With a huff Alice stopped in her tracks and finally noticed the repeated calls and that she inexplicably winded up in the dinner room on the ground floor which was absolutely not where the brunette headed or thought she headed, but when she turned around and saw the older Sinclair girl, Florence- she silently cursed herself to hell for doing so.

'_Oh God. Anything, but her.'_ Alice didn't have the patience to deal with her now. Out of the three Sinclair females she was the hardest to deal with, maybe because she was attending to a private school the older girl was far less sheltered (and naive) than her mother and sister and could not be gained over with looks alone. And that was something Alice both feared and admired. Not only that, but also some things did not get past her. Like the look the girl was giving her because of the form of address.

"What? You are the wife of a knight. It is your proper address, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid you are mistaken, Miss Florence. The proper addressing would be Madam." corrected her the brown haired girl with a (very fake) forced smile and was praying to whatever higher power this fanily believed in for make the earth swallow down the other girl. Or just make her leave her alone. Whatever would work.

"But that has such a low-class sounding like if you were from some house of..." whined the other girl.

"That's alright since knights are the lowest among the nobles." cut in Alice inpatiently. Just what the hell must she do to be finally left alone again?

But she could hardly finish her sentence when Kevin entered the room and there was no way he did not hear the conversation. Or at least that was what his narrowed eyes implyed with his hard, nasty and at the same time challenging glare that could be only translated into _'What? Not good enough for you?'_

"Oh Kevin, good that you're here. You are a knight so you could tell us what is a knight's wife called." said Florence totally unaware of the silent, but bloody war that took place before her.

"They are called Lady and the surname of their husband, Miss Florence. So in Alice's case she would be Lady Regnard." answered attentively the man before looking at his 'wife' again. "And Alice, Lady Klara's been waiting for you for over an hour now." The girl did not even had the time to properly bid goodbye to the young miss as her wrist was caught in an iron grip and she was dragged away just a little too fast and harshly...

Half an hour later she was sitting out on the balcony of Lady Sinclair's drawing room enjoying tea and crumpets and also the fine, if not a bit hot weather like on any other average day. Thus it was a perfectly ordinary Monday morning. Then why did Alice have this nagging apprehension that won't leave her alone since earlier that day?

"Alice-chan, could you find what you were looking for?" asked Klara pleasantly while taking a sip from her tea. "You two was away for an awfully long while in 'Kevin time'."

"What's Kevin...?" Oh, that urge of the male to finish everything as quickly and efficiently as possible or even faster. "Yes, we could." came the dull reply after she put down her cup and stared at the flowering garden below.

"I heard you asked Roland for special permission to allow Kevin to go out with you." there was a glint of something suspiciously cheery in the older woman's eyes that not only tenfolded the brunette's misgivings, but she also could not shoo away the disturbing mental picture of an interrogator. "You also spend a lot of time together these days. It's good to see you two are getting along so well." Oh yes, they was not over with questioning her about the marks on her neck. Not in the least.

Upon hearing that the brown haired girl had a very strong urge to scream 'who's getting along well?', but she quickly swallowed it down and remained silent. Besides right now it was the most beneficial for the two of them- Kevin and her, that is- to... wait, she did not think that. She did not need... did not want to think that! And anyway, who the hell cares about what is beneficial to him?

Suddenly an inexplicable fear gripped Alice's insides mercilessly while the word 'Danger!' echoed in her mind persistently in a familiar voice. She started from her chair so fast that she nearly knocked off her cup from the table as a wave of nausea hit her and the brunette ran from the room without another word. There was a strange and heavy feeling in her chest as if there was an invisible weight on her lungs that not only could not be lifted, but also frosted her chest from the inside.

It is needless to say that no one saw her at lunch or at the next meals too. Alice did not show up at breakfast, lunch or dinner and also missed from work and stayed at her room. Kevin could not say it bothered him too much, if anything it made easier for him to monitor her. But Lady Klara and Emily too was worried and when the next day the Lady of the house- as an excuse of the insupportable situation- called the family doctor only for the brown haired girl to flat out refuse to meet him, it fell on the knight to check on the girl and bring her something to eat.

As he begrudgingly made his way for the kitchen to fetch some light dinner for the ill girl, thinking that it was already high time for her to stop feigning sick as he never really believed it in the first place that she was genuinely unwell, a conversation hit the albino's ears and he froze in his tracks before he could enter through the door. Three servants of the house- the two maids, Mathilda and Edith with the cook, Paula was chirpily chating with each other while preparing dinner.

"I can't believe that in only four days the Master and the Lady will host a party this big." gushed Paula with dreamy eyes while chopping up some vegetables. She was a middle-aged woman whose greying brown hair twisted in a knot at the back of her neck."How I wish I could go..."

"I heard Alice will be attending. Maybe she will tell us what was it like?" hoped Mathilda as she peeled an apple.

"She will? God, I so envy her!"

"I don't think she could still be going. She hadn't been too well since yesterday." added Edith, the maid with short blond hair.

"I doubt it's anything serious, she had been ill before and got better after some sleep." said Mathilda and it sounded like she was also reassuring herself a little because she took an enormous liking to the girl and despite the friction recently between them, the maid was very eager to make friends with her.

"But she was never unwell for this long." interjected her blond friend with a little bit of concern in her voice. "And I'm kind of worried about her, she had been throwing up whatever she had previously eaten, so now she won't eat anything at all." The three women all let their thoughts dwell on that and continued their work in silence.

"Do you think she could be expecting?" It was Mathilda who broke the silence. The maid looked very excited with whatever she got into her head now.

'_Expecting what?'_ thought silently the white haired knight, now his interest genuinely picked, but he did not catch the unmistakable tone it was said in.

"What? No!" deadpanned Edith with a kind of _'get that notion out of your head- now!'_ look on her face, but soon her curiousity got the better of her. "Why would you even think that?"

"Well, I haven't done _that_ kind of laundry for her," the first thing the albino could think of was _'what that kind of... and what does it had to do with...'_ when it became clear to the man what the three woman was gossiping about, he got the strongest desire to sink to the bottom of the Earth or anything just not to listen to this talk. "and lately she gets along so well with Kevin..." If anything in this world then the expression of the other maid would've been the model of guilt. "Okay, don't ever tell this to anyone, but I... kinda overheard it when the Master was negotiating with her family and... so... it's in their marriage settlement that she needs to give birth to a son and... I thought that maybe they had already got around to it..." confessed Mathilda weakly.

Okay, now that was just plain stupid. Alice was way too young for him to even think about... Wait, just what the hell was they supposing about him?

"What, you think they already done_ it_?"

"Well, there was those _spots_ on her neck... and it would all make sense and there is nothing unusual about that seeing they are married..."

"Still, she is a bit too young, don't you think?" cutted in Paula and that settled the argument, but not for Kevin. Forget dinner, this was something that needed to be cleared up right away! So he trotted away not giving a damn about anything else then the matter at hand. It was a serious matter, because there was no way she could be...

The young knight was so engrossed in his frantic (and also panicked) thoughts that he only noticed that he already arrived to the room of the girl in question when he throw in the door and marched right through it.

"God, can't you be a little more louder?" the brown haired girl expressed her indignation looking up from her bed. She was still pale and looked very sleepy with her disheveled hair and heavy eyes. "My head hurts." the brunette couldn't even finish her complain when there was a loud meow and Cheshire peeked out from the other side of Alice with a cutting glance aimed at the white haired man.

The hell was that demon doing there? Kevin seriously doubted Alice could maintian being ill (and poisonous) without her brews and she could be only unwell because she drank something, still that cat should have been shun her when she did so, unless...

"Then stop drinking this..." the albino answered after briefly looking around then grabbing a teacup from her nighttable and pouring out the open window its liquid green contents with one swift motion. Wait, that did not made any sense at all! He was pretty sure he confiscicated everything from her that was dangerous, especially that box of her with the different 'teas'. Then where did she find...?

"What? That's just herb tea."

"Somehow since Saturday I find that hard to believe." then his gaze fell on a bouquet of flowers that Emily picked for her from the garden yesterday to make the other girl get well. A bouquet from which half the flowers was missing... there was no way flowers wither that quickly... then it hit him. "Which one?"

"What?"

"Which one did you use to make that slop?" the albino knight asked furiously and when he did not recieve an answer other than the girl rolling her eyes at him, he quickly added. "If you don't answer then I will have to get rid of each and every flower that is even a little suspicious."

"Then good luck explaining to the Lady why you destroyed most of her precious garden." Alice answered with shooting out her tounge cheekily at him, completely forgetting about her headache and awaiting his comeback, but was alarmed when she did not recieve one, instead he was just standing in one place and looking really bothered with whatever that he suddenly remembered. "What's with you?"

"Are you..." Why, why was it so hard to ask her? "...are you with child?" he groaned out weakly. Did he even wanted to know it? It would complicate things so much...

"You mean pregnant? No. Where did you even heard this bullshit?" the brunette asked with a certain distaste.

"But... they said..." Wow, now with his newfound neatness he really felt like the model of men.

"What? You really believe gossips?" her voice was coated in taunting as she sat up straight on her bed, but quickly calmed down. "Just tell them next time that I'm a lactose intolerant and couldn't refuse Lady Klara's favourite tea with milk."

"That's not even remotedly true."

"Yup, but they don't know that."

A moment of uncomfortable silence settled between them before the albino collected himself and with clearing his throat he broke the quiet again. "Then let's continue from where we left off last time, shall we?" he said sitting down to her dresser. "Why don't we start from the beginning? What's your name? And remember to tell me the truth."

After a long moment of staring blindly in the air and weighting if she should tell the truth, the brown haierd girl finally spoke. Her voice was strangely serious as she cast her glance on the cat on her lap and started to stroke the shiny black fur. "Alice... Baskerville."

"I hope you don't think I will believe that. The Baskervilles disappeared during the Tragedy of Sablier."

"Yes, they sure enough kept out of sight, but that doesn't mean they vanished. According to Marie they are just merely waiting for their _'silence'_ to broke."

"What does that mean?"

"Who knows? I'm just a tool. It is unneeded for me to know about anything other than my task." said the girl with loathing while still not looking at him.

"So you are telling me it is futile to interrogate you." sighed tiredly the young knight. She was not making this easy for him, wasn't she? "What about the woman we saw at the town the last time? She is one of you, aren't she, so she ought to know something." Now this must've stired her interest, because finally Alice looked at him.

"Hmph. If I were you, I would keep far away from Lotti." then she added in a silent voice. "She won't tell you anything anyway."

"How so?"

"It wasn't her mission, idiot. She's only here to make sure I won't back out or anything."

"So you could've backed out?" the knight asked with disbelief and sighed when he did not receive an answer. "I seriously don't understand you. Here you have everything: a job with full board and good pay, you are treated as part of the family and what more- loved, and if you told you was in trouble we would helped you, yet you still chose to turn on us. I don't see how is it more worthwhile for you unless..." and finally her reason behind her inexplicable acts dawned on him. "Those 'Shinigamies'... they are not only dangerous for us, but for you too."

Alice turned away from him in an ostentatious manner and stayed silent. After a few moments however, Kevin must've become bored with that, because he stood up and walked to the door. "As far as I'm concerned, you have two options. For one, you can do nothing and wait until I deal with you one way or another. Or you can stop this immature act, continue working tomorrow and tell me everything you know about that client of yours and those Shinigamies with everything and everyone else who could be after the masters' life. You have time to think until tomorrow."

The young girl waited silently until she could no longer hear his disappearing steps. Then she turned on her back and looked at the dark ceiling above her head. She knew it damnit, since the day the flowers stopped arriving, she knew she had to eventually choose on which side she will stand. Then why, why was it so hard to take sides? Maybe because it was the first time she had the luxury to do so...

And just what options did she really have? On one hand she had the most realistic illusion of a family she ever had and a mockery of a marriage, while on the other hand there was a whole bunch of predators who won't hesitate to kill her for the tiniest trip...

Her choice was painfully clear...

"What the hell are you doing here?" the question was asked by no other then Alice when a couple of hours later the albino came back with a pillow and a blanket and cozily settled down on the chair, putting up his legs on the end of the bed. It was still very dark and if the girl would had to make a guess, she would've said it was still early dawn.

"Making sure you won't do any more nonsense." he said tiredly and worked very hard to stiffle a yawn.

"Shouldn't you be still on guard or something?"

"It's already morning and if anyone wanted to make any harm they would've done it already."

"You sure are easygoing about this..." When Kevin looked at her wearedly she quickly continued. "Wouldn't be sleeping here exhaust the concept of 'fraternizing with the enemy'?" asked the brunette smartly before nestling deeper in her pillow tiredly.

"Shut up, it's only for a little while."

Alice wanted to fire back something very nasty seeing that she was very sleepy herself and did not take too kindly to waking up at this early hours, but when the brown haired girl saw that he was already asleep and in his clothes none the less, she opted against it and gone back to sleep after pushing his legs down. Just what the hell was he doing, dirting her sheets with his shoe? Anyway, she would have more than enough opportunities in the morning to give him a piece of her mind...

"Pfft... I thought they have people to do the groceries." said the young girl indignantly two days later while she and Kevin cut across the crowd on the busy marketplace. Both of them carried heavy bags as they was searching for items that still needed to be purchased.

"And whose fault is it again that she and half of the staff got poisoned?" answered the white haired man sullenly. It was easy to see that he wasn't doing this any more willingly than the brunette.

"Oh, please. I had pneumonia and have you ever heard about one who did not infect others?" she replied while inspecting with disgust the various vegetables that was laid out on a stand. "Besides you are just angry because I managed to do it under your nose."

"This little game you are playing is not cute at all, brat." Ah, there it was, his new nickname for her.

"And what? It's not like you can do anything about it." Alice fired back with a confident little smile while looking at the man's hard gaze, but she could hardly finish it because he roughly pulled her to a surprisingly quiet and empty part of the place and made her face him.

"It is true that I can't divorce or send you away, nor can I kill you without causing scandal, but that doesn't mean there are no other means to deal with you." the albino said with leaning close to the brown haired girl then continued in a whisper. "For example you could die any day because from some sudden disease or unforseen accident."

"You wouldn't dare." the brunette narrowed her eyes.

"Don't test me. As far as I see it we are at the edge of a cliff. Don't push me and I won't push you."

It wasn't surprising at all that they returned to the Sinclair house in the biggest silence so far after getting everything from the list and refused to speak with each other for the remainder of the day. The strange thing however, was that while to any onlooker it looked like they was just busy with preparing for tomorrow's ball, no one could see that in reality they had another reason to be silent. A reason they both kept quiet about even if anxiety and apprehension was screaming at them with all its might...

It was already past noon when the two black haired sisters hurried through vacant hallways. They was silent and fidgety with their uneasiness was written all over their faces, because earlier that day they was summoned to Celia and it was no question why they was called so suddenly...

"Mistress Celia," the twins greeted her after they received admittance to the older woman's study. "you called for us?"

"Yes..." the woman said absent-mindedly as she played with a quill that was forgotten on her desk. "Take a seat, girls." There was a long, pregnant pause before she continued. "Do you know anything about Alice yet?"

"Not really," started Anne and quickly continued when she noticed the eerie look on the face of their superior. "but I'm sure..."

"There is no need for you to stall for Alice any longer. It looks like she turned traitor on us and the Shinigami was dispatched to bring her back."

"There... there must be a misunderstanding!" Marie cut in quickly with dread ringing in her voice, because what they feared had come true. "Miss Alice would never...!"

"I understand how you feel and you can be assured that I am aware that it was not your fault. I know it must be hard, but I expect you to assist me when she will receive exemplary punishment for her actions."

"I-I'm sure if you would give her some more time..."

"I'm sorry, but there is no more time and the order was already given." It was evident that she was really sorry. After a moment however, Celia collected herself and continued with newfound strenght in her voice. "That's all I wanted to tell you. You are dismissed."

Marie and Anne left the room in silence and they remained quiet for most of the way back to Alice's vacant room in the tower. "Sister, do you think this is our fault?" asked Anne suddenly. She never sounded this weak before and that pressed tightly the heart of her sibling. "If only we wouldn't..."

"This happened because Miss Alice is _our_ princess. Not _theirs_. That's why they could not ruin her completely like the other girls."

"Do you think we acted correctly?"

"Yes." her voice was intolerant for opposition. "The time we was waiting for finally came. Tomorrow we will start phrase two of our plans: meeting up with Miss Alice in Reveille."

"But then we will be an entire week too late!" lashed out her younger twin. "Wouldn't it be better if we do _it_ tonight? We already packed and arranged everything. We only need to cause such a big..."

"We will be four days too late regardless of when we are leaving." cutted in impatiently Marie. "We can't hope to outride them, since the Shingami are already in Reveille. And even if we somehow miraculously would arrive before them, we still couldn't fight them off, because Miss Alice is the only one of us with battle potentional." after saying this she continued shootingly. "Miss Alice wouldn't go down without taking some of them with her first. So let's concentrate on our task while she weakens them and cause an upturn in which the three of us can disappear easily."

"Don't you think what we are about to do is heartless, Sister?"

"It's all for Miss Alice! Heartless or not no one could help these girls anyway. This is salvation for them."

They fell silent again, but they wasn't worried anymore, instead a calmness filled them as the two sisters climbed the ornately carved winding stairs that lead to the room in the tower.

Tomorrow they will began the next stage of their plan and leave this household for good. Tomorrow they will commit their biggest sin...

* * *

><p><strong><em>Extra story, but not omake aka.<br>The birth of the end of the last chapter (the Kevin/Alice lime-y scene)  
>or why I am such a bastard:<br>_**

_Somewhere in Hungary (Europe) sometime 2010 summer, maybe 2 weeks after I showed both Pandora Hearts and Dokuhime to a friend of mine who writes original novels:_

F(riend, who showed up randomly BTW): *flipping pages is silence, then puts down pages* This is crap.  
>M(e): Which one? And stop dropping crumbs on my bed! Gee, be like a normal person and sit on a chair when you eat!<br>F: I don't want to be lectured about normalcy from you. It's way too ironic. And I'm doing you here a favour! But returning to subject: both. *getting another cookie* They are missing something.  
>M: What do you mean? I worked for weeks on it! It's just still in a trial stage...<br>F: So it's unfinished. Therefore it's crap. And you are the daughter of a cook and a headwaiter. Pfft!  
>M: You know it's not easy to invent new cookies! *munches on one*<br>F: Is that any way to speak for someone who came from a family whose every member works now for generations in the catering industry?  
>M: You know me and my siblings arewill not work in it.  
>F: What a traitorous generation you four are...<br>M: *mumbles_ 'Like you are any better'_* Okay, back to topic: what is wrong with this chappy?  
>F: It's end is a simple conversation? You know this is the part where Alice fails. Make it more epic. This is just simply unbeliable. Okay, she have the dagger HIDDEN and (poisonous) cookies and tea. Nothing suspicious no matter how I look at it. So how on earth did he figure out that Alice is poisonous and have a dagger? Make him taste her at least, will you?<br>M: Taste her?  
>F: Yup. That's evidence. But with something more serious than kissing since that was harmless.<br>M: Or was it? *evil expression and voice*  
>F: Well, I don't know what are you thinking about and I'm not sure I want to know it either. *sweatdrop*<p>

_-5 long and hard days later-_

M (on phone around 17 pm): Heya, I fixed the chappy when do you have time to meet?  
>F: Wait, I'll check and call you back.<p>

_-And hour and half later-_

M: WTH? What takes so long? *doorbell* Who the hell is that? *opens door* The fuck are you doing here?  
>F: Hey, more respect will ya! I just traveled here from home! From the other end of town! So gimme the chappy and cookies!<br>M: There isn't any.  
>F: Liar. You always have something sweet.<br>M: Right now the only such thing I have is raw sugar. Will that be enough?  
>F: Bastard. Then make me cappuchino. That is something you drink everyday. I won't believe that ran out too.<br>M *walking to my room with a tray* : So?  
>F: Much better. *flip pages in a hurry* Hey, you cut out the 'i***** b******' part! Put it back!<br>M: No, that was useless for the story.  
>F: Put. It. Back! *looks up* Hey cookies! *reaches for one, but her hand is slapped away*<br>M: Mine! Why do you want some anyway if you said it is crap? *evil glint in eyes*  
>F: You are a real bastard, you know that? o.O<p>

**Endnote: **I really won't put it back. Period. But maybe I will include it in an Omake? =D**  
><strong>


	9. Sin VIII

**AN: **Sorry about the long wait, recently my life and karma was a lot more bitchier than usual =( But Finally we are at one of the most important turning point so I'm really excited =D**  
><strong>Wow, it feels so weird that we are already at the 8th chappy, because originally this story was only 7 chapters long (plus the prologue), but as I worked more and more on the early sketch it became longer and longer :D**  
><strong>Also another good question was asked by**_ Vivace_ **about the time this story will elaborate. Wow, you really like questions that can only answered if I spoil =) Well, let's just say that this story is made up from two parts. Part I is about how the four main characters commit their 'sin' and Part II is mainly about how they make amends for it. (Wow, I really am the Queen of Vague Answers, right?)**  
><strong>And the poll is closed, I thank the few who took the time to answer it.**  
><strong>Because nowdays I live solely on reviwes (and caffein) don't forget to leave one for me (coffee is also appreciated)! =D

* * *

><p><strong>Sin VIII<strong>

_Who will you use?  
>Who will you kill?<br>Who will you love?_

A little tug on the brunette's clothes was followed by her first two fingers lightly brushing along her painted, soft lower lip before a frown crawled onto the girl's pretty face and her fist connected with the mirror's dark wooden frame as all the instructions from so long ago came back to her about elegant taste, womanly charms and proper etiquette which- if used correctly- were sure to catch any man's attention. And while a dull pain shot through her hand a voice somewhere in her mind warned her to not damage her body any more... don't leave herself armless... Because wasn't her body a poison princess' greatest weapon?

No, she corrected herself while the brown haired girl crumpled the fabric of her skirt tightly in her fist, she discarded that name a long ime ago and wasn't one of those mindless puppets anymore who only complied with whatever was said to them out of fear that the Shinigami will get them if they ever acted otherwise. It wasn't like the girl feared them or anything either. No, she was pretty sure she could defeat them like she could lure anyone and everyone she wanted to and she was perfectly capable of making a decision or two on her own.

Then how, just how the hell could she end up back at where she had started? With dolling herself up again for someone else's convenience? Wasn't it she who was supposed to use anyone she could- anyone that was near her? Then why was it that she was the one who was used?

Alice angrily whimpered and her face mashed up in annoyance, because right now all her carefully chosen clothes, cute shoes, neatly arranged hair and pretty face along with Glen, Celia or Kevin for that matter- could all burst into flames and go to Hell together for all she cared. There was things she needed to do and so little time left that she could not afford to make any more mistakes. She had still a chance at winning if she could make the necessary preparations before the Baskervilles arrived and making the Sinclair residents doing them instead of her just added to the fun especially if Kevin became suspicious, but could not prove anything, like it was the case most of the time.

The mental image of a silently fuming albino knight however, changed into a scene of the family of four happily chatting and excited about the evening– a scene she witnessed that morning- which made her gleeful if not a little wicked laugh change instantly bitter and Emily looked at her alarmed from the other end of the room, but the brunette was so engrossed in her thoughts that she did not noticed it.

The sight undoubtedly sickened her while a certain coldness sweeped over her body from her chest to her toes. Just how the hell could they be so merry and careless as if they was unaware that there were those who were after them? And some much closer than they would think...

'_Che, who needs family anyways? In the end they are just a bunch of useless and unreliable weaklings.' _the brown haired girl reminded herself. _'If you need to do something, you have to do it yourself.' _then as if an afterthought Alice added mentally. _'Just sit there and watch me regain my freedom. I'll ensure that man's fall, no matter the cost.' _with renewed surety the girl flattened out her skirt. "Just watch me!" she did not noticed that she said that out loud until the blond girl tugged at her clothes softly.

"Alice, are you alright?" asked Emily innocently, not wanting to upset and get on the bad side of the recently bipolar girl.

"Emily..." said Alice softly with mild surprise on her face as if she only noticed then the other girl. "It's time. Let's go." the brunette said after taking a last quick glance at her reflection in the mirror then the two girls hurried along the stairs and corridors of the Sinclair townhouse with both of their minds racing with hundreds of secret anticipations. Alice could hardly understand her- it wasn't like the youngest Sinclair girl could attend the ball since she wasn't fifteen yet and theolder girl pushed the unnecessary thought of herself being underage too- out of her mind. Unlike the excited girl, Alice's thoughts was not filled with innocent curiousity, but kept drifting back to the events taking place early that day as her hand silently reached for and crumpled her skirt in her fist again...

It was truly ridiculous how quickly the morning of the day when the ball was held came. Friday night seemed only a few minutes before the first flush of the dawn appeared on the clean early-August sky and with that came the start of the madness...

Alice groaned irritatedly into her pillow refusing to open her eyes... The noises just wouldn't go away no matter how hard she willed them to disappear and she was really tempted to simply go down and massacre each and every one who dared to disturb her so early and get some more sleep when impatient knocking accompanied by an excited voice drawn her out of her sweet half awake state.

"A-li-ce!" chirped happily the younger girl and damn, must she elongate every syllable of her name? "Alice! You aren't asleep, are you?" when she got no reply the honey blond continued. "You promised to help me get ready."

"Emily," started the brunette with a poorly masked annoyed tone. "you shouldn't be anywhere near to a servant's room."

"But,"

"Look, if you let me rest for a little more, I'll go a little earlier... maybe." she added the last part barely above a whisper and it looked like it convinced her because shortly after the brunette could hear the younger girl softly cry out with joy and hurry away.

With a soft sigh Alice turned back on her side with every intent on picking up where she was interrupted, but to no avail. For some reason the brown haired girl couldn't go back into a slumber. So with an irritated huff the young girl raised from her bed and took a quick glance at the clock. It was past 11 am which meant that she not only overslept and will surely get scolded for her negligence, but all chances of a decent breakfast was gone as well.

Well, there was no point about hurrying now, so she put on her robe and stepped into her slippers then slowly made her way towards the bathroom. Alice started a bath and while the hot water was slowly filling the tub, the brunette girl undressed. Her stiff body instantly relaxed in the soothing water, but her mind did not turned off like it usually would- her mind was racing with all the secret possibilities she had. Her time was up, that was as sure as that the Shinigami was coming. The Sinclairs was practically unprotected with no end of nameless (and also faceless) people bearing malice everywhere around them in this chaotic age where yesterday's friends was more often than not tomorrow's enemies. They would no doubt side with anybody who was willing to help them further up the social ladder or suck up to whoever that was in power currently with eliminating one or two eyesores instead of them. The only remaining task was to determine all the useful allies she could get hold of.

While Alice was thinking she did not noticed that her bathing water turned cold until a large bang echoed through the house. The brown haired girl sighed and quickly and profoundly washed herself, not leaving out her hair then after getting ready, she went down to search for something to eat.

The kitchen was of course bustling with servants prepairing the various dishes for that evening. With a disdainful frown aimed solely at the fruit the borwn haired girl picked up a big red apple from a bowl and slowly walked through the halls of the house munching quietly.

It did not take her long to reach a bigger room- the tiled floor polished shiny and more servants decorating the room. On one of the ladders stood Kevin and Alice watched him boredly as he tried to fix some decorative ribbons.

"Oh Alice, it's good you're here." said Mathilda excitedly while washing one of the large windowpanes. "Could you find a place for that flower arrangement, please."

The brown haired girl slowly swallowed the last bite of her apple while she looked at the big and probably heavy bunch of flowers. "Don't want to." her refusal was quick and cold as she tossed the stump at some random place. A maid hissed silently when it fell on the shiny floor that she no doubt polished with hard work, but dared not to say anything. Alice was dearly loved by the Lady and her younger daughter to the point that she got special rights and was greatly favorised. It was also no secret who would come off badly in a quarrel with the girl. That still did not stop the albino to jump off the ladder.

"Since some of our staff are still _ill_, every one of us must help out." he said with a pointed glare. _'It's all your fault to begin with so don't whine.'_ was its silent message.

"You can't tell me what to do." answered Alice defiantly and some of the maids stopped whatever they was doing and watched the exchange curiously.

The white haired man was not amused however. He quickly took the girl's arm and dragged her out of earshot before he silently and impatiently hissed out. "The thing is, you are still my wife, so you will do what I say to you."

The white haired knight instantly regretted saying that as he watched the brunette girl's shocked face (he wasn't the only one who was surprised by him pulling rank over the brown haired girl) turn to a grin. What he saw though greatly astounded him. It wasn't her normal smile... it was something else. He knew it because he was used to her haughty or contemptuos smiles since he was not once on their receiving end. He was also lucky enough to see her rare and beautiful content smiles. But this, the way her eyes shone with sadistic mirth and her lips streched practically ear to ear in a heartbeat... it was something he never saw. Not on her, not on anyone... it was simply sinister. And to his humilation not a minute later Alice was laughting so hard that now everyone was looking at them.

"There, happy? I helped out." she said after placing a folded napkin next to a plate. "Now if you will excuse me, _my lord husband..._" the brunette curtseyed mockingly then walked out of the room merrily leaving behind a perplexed young knight.

And this is exactly how the brown haired girl ended up in a room with an overly happy blonde girl at two o'clock p.m., an hour earlier than she needed to and exactly three hours before the ball was to start. Emily did not mind it, if anything she was ecstatic to see the other girl so early.

So at two o'clock sharp the two had a quick snack and some tea before starting the tortureous procedures. Alice had the privilege of helping bathe the girl and wash her hair before dressing and styling her short locks. She did not see the need for such things, because the younger girl could not attend anyway, but Emily was very compliant the whole time so the brunette did not voice her opinion.

By half past three Emily was content enough with her look and Alice herself was forced to start getting ready in the blond's room. After a quick bath, she herself started to dress, the whole time very mindful to not let her see her back and when she put on moodily her shoes, Emily could not stiffle a small pleased cry before she jumped up to see the brown haired girl from every angle.

"You look pretty." exclaimed the honey blond with a kind of scheming look on her face. "I'm sure Kev-, I mean everybody will like you." Oh, so this is what it was all about.

"This night is about Miss Florence not me, Emily." reminded her Alice after a soft calming sigh then started to do her own hair with the unshakeble feeling that this will be a long hour and in a way it was, because the next fifty-five minutes was passed with some small talk about this and that mainly on Emily's side.

So for the other girl the five minute quiet walk from Emily's room to the ballroom was like redemption, she could finally go over her plans for the evening before she took her place next to the very glum looking knight as they stepped into the room.

He seemed tired, but worked very hard to mask it. She was aware of him being up guarding the house and it's residents from late at night till early morning and secretly sleeping through the day, because Alice caught him not once in the last week asleep in some hidden nook or corner of the house and while to anyone else it would've looked like negligence, the brunette could easily understand it. The man was saving up his energy with eliminating useless or eventless hours of duty when the other servants ensured enough protection and concentrated more on those hours when the risk of attack was higher and less people was up. But it was still impossible. No matter how hard he tried, he could not protect them from an enemy he did know nothing about. And that's why she...

The minute they was inside however, Alice was instantly snatched away to get acquainted with firstly Lady Klara's, then Florence's friends. With a proper, but incredibly fake smile on her face the brown haired girl let herself introduced to various guests she did not care enough to remember their names or spare a second glance at until Florence ushered her to the next group of people.

'_They are eyesores.'_

In all the chit-chat of the guests and the soft music that was played the brunette could barely catch those words and when she did the girl abruptly stopped.

"Alice?" Florence asked worriedly seeing the other girl nervously turning her head back and forth.

"Haven't you heard...?" Alice started to ask, but quickly subsided into silence again when she saw the incomprehension on the older girl's face. "No, it's nothing." she said after shaking her head a little to clear it up, but she could only think of one thing: _'Where?'_

Florence shook her head in resignation then took the girl's hand again and resumed to drag her to their previous destination, a small group of conversing and occasionally laughing girls farther on ahead. They looked the same age as Florence and unaware of the two girls approaching.

'_Filth, getting lucky just because they sided with that... Heroes? Oh please, they are nothing but traitors... It would be better if all of them would die.'_

It was the same voice as before and the brunette could hear it clearly now. She stopped again and looked in the direction of the voice: the group of girls ahead. They laughted again before they drawed near and continued whispering again while lazily fanning themselves with expensive lace fans. Florence impatiently tuged at the brown haired girl's hand whose gaze was at the golden haired girl who seemed to be the center of the group. It did not take long for her to sense eyes watching her and when their eyes met Alice could only think of one thing: _'There you are.'_

A moment later however, the blond smiled nauseatingly brightly and made her way to the pair with her group following her like loyal puppies.

"Florence, I missed you so much!" her voice carried just the slightest tint of strain as she sweeped up the honey blond in a tight hug. "Happy birthday, dear!"

"Claudia, I missed you too!" answered Florence before stepping away. "Clau, this is..."

"Alice!" cutted in the girl and she hugged the brunette a lot less fiercely. "Remember me? I'm Claudia. Claudia Longden. It's so good seeing you again. How have you been, cousin? Oh, you _so_ have to tell me about your husband and all!"

_Longden. So that was it..._

"O-Of course I remember you, _Clau_." Alice managed to utter out and noted with delight the blond's distaste for the nickname. "I'm fine, thank you very much. How is auty and uncle doing?" she asked smartly before the girl dragged her away in the direction of the balcony.

By seven thirty Kevin had more than enough of the guests and the party. It was as normal and boring as any other social gathering and if anything he wished it remained that way and ended quickly. The knight fixed his red gaze on Alice as he silently sipped his red wine.

From five to six o'clock she mingled with the guests before she disappeared off somewhere. Previous experience told him that it did not mean good if the girl was out of sight and he was at the edge of go searching for her when she just as suddenly reappeared.

At six thirty sharp she looked incredibly annoyed when another one of the male guests approached her. He asked something the albino could not hear through the distance and the music and the brown haired girl- like all the previous times- snapped her black lacey fan open and started to slowly fan herself, the sign of her being married.

Unlike all the others the young man seemed unaware of the guesture's meaning and continued talking without being bothered. At this however she held the fan over her left ear and Kevin noted with satisfaction that it meaned that she wanted to get rid of him whoever that guest was. Alice became visually more aggravated with the man ignoring her subtle signals and the white haired man nearly choked on his drink in his surprise when the girl looked directly at him and transfered the open fan to her left hand with never taking her amethyst gaze off of him.

'_Come and talk to me!' _The message was clear, but the Sinclairs' knight chose to ignore her and turned his head away curious to see what the brown haired girl would do. That was probably the wrong, but momentarily the most enjoyable thing to do, because when he looked back Alice was already on the dance floor with the idiot and up to nine thirty she did not left it accepting indiscriminately the dance requests of each and every man who asked her.

Strangely enough that annoyed Kevin like nothing else in a long time, but he could do nothing except continue to watch. If anything she was the perfect partyguest while doing her job properly so he could not complain. She did not hesitate to 'pull the wallflowers into the fun' as she put it or introduce guests to each other while she made sure to subtly supervise Miss Florence when a young man approached her.

Right now however she was alone near the refreshment table... and the girl was using her fan again. _'At what hour? ...Wait for me.'_ and _'We are being watched.'_ was what he could decipher from it with a bunch of other signals he could not recognise before the brunette disappeared into the crowd again. He quickly put down his glass to a nearby table and went to find her.

Alice gazed up at the blood red moon on the dark, starless sky wondering why she felt the need to be out on the balcony again. She was alone in the dark and the air was strangely cold while she started to rub her arms as a cool breeze played with her dress and hair.

"Yeah, I know. There will be a lot of blood tonight... partner." the girl whispered to herself not knowing then how right she was...

This all happened a few hours ago and now as midnight was drawing near the brown haired girl became more and more fidgety. She revised her plan again and again searching for weak points when something struck her. But as she made her way back into the ballroom and through various little groups, another voices grabbed her attention.

'_Look, she is the one I heard about, the new servant. What is she doing here?'_

'_I heard she is from some has-been noble house from a backwater little town.'_

'_And she is already married to another one in the service of that family.'_

'_My, how scandalous!'_

No matter how hard he was looking, Alice was acting more and more suspiciously, but the albino could not find anything out of line yet. The girl's behaviour was agitated, but so far she had done nothing wrong.

Kevin tiredly and discretely yawned. There was only a little time left before the closure of the party and so far nothing was amiss.

"You stand out too much." the knight nearly dropped her glass when the familiar voice spoke next to him. Just when did she...?

"I don't need you to tell me how to do my job." he answered looking at the brunette who watched the dancing couples.

"I guess so. But I still think I might know something you don't." she replied without looking at him.

"And what's that?"

"There was thirty guests invited. With your precious masters, the servants and us there should be a total of fourty-five people, not including the musicans."

"I know that."

"The thing is, there is fourty-six people in this room. I counted them while dancing."

"You made a mistake. Everyone was checked when they came in."

"By you?" Alice asked with suddenly turning to him.

"No, but-"

"Mingle more. Otherwise they will know who to look out for." the girl cutted in impatiently before putting up another fake smile and accepting another request for dance. But before she took even three steps the albino knight called out her name. Alice turned back slowly, but the man just shook his head and with rolling her eyes in frustration the brown haired girl continued on her way.

The knight feeled like kicking himself as his hold tightened on the small lace trimmed material in his pocket. No, he wasn't jealous or anything, after all Alice had a right to enjoy this night and it was no business of his that which idiot she choose to do so (as long as no one tried to account him for the expenses of the funeral). The thing that bothered him was the handkerchief in his fist. Kevin wanted to give it back (it was unnecessary in the first place anyway), he truly wanted to, he even sought her out a couple of times... but whenever he opened his mouth, the white haired man said a whole lot of things ranging from something annoyed to flat-out rude, but he just could not say what he originally wanted to. So his hands tightened on the soft silk fabric and he went for another round of drink...

Alice could not enjoy any of the dances so far including this one. She loved to dance and the blessed vacant sensation she was usually in when doing so, but now that feeling of serenity did not come over her. All the time she did not look at any of her partners and here eyes searched for something else... someone else...

With a resigned sigh she politely excused herself from her partner and glared back at the young knight who draw up a questioning eyebrow not a minute ago. Well, it was almost time anyway and used it to her advantage when Florence stepped in front of Kevin to converse with him and while she grabbed her skirt again she made her way towards Ronald.

The cold steel of the blade- that was so easy to snatch away from the snack tray in the early afternoon- already took over her body heat a long time ago, but it still gave the girl a comforting feeling as she recalled one of the first things she learned.

_When the poison princess has to assassinsate, she has to move mainly at night._

The brunette quickly checked her surroundings looking for someone, anyone, and her gaze fell upon a bunch of young men who earlier asked her to dance and practically swooned around her till she managed to escape them. The brown haired one was also amongst them, the one who ignored her fan language so insolently and without noticing it, her legs started to take her there.

_We can kill the victim momentarily or slowly. The easiest way is during sex._

The girl shook her head slightly and turned away to continue on her way towards the head of the Sinclair household surrounded by some of his friends and business partners unaware of anything happening around him. They was close, only a few meters away.

_Do not hesitate..._

She did not need anyone for this and though simpletons were considerably easier to manipulate, they had a tendency to screw everything up in a heartbeat anyway. (Meanwhile only two meters remained till she reached her target.)

_Do not hesitate._

She could not fail, not this time...

_Do not hesitate!_

Ronald turned sideways a little and Claudia Longden gave her a confidante smile while in turn Alice grabbed hold of the handle of the small knife (only a few steps left)...

_A quick, silvery flash..._

_...her surroundings frozen in time while everything was swallowed up by a deafening silence..._

_...deep crimson running down on elegant clothes..._

_...and Alice was running..._


	10. Sin IX

**Sin IX**

_I cannot sleep. No, I cannot afford to sleep.  
>Bulky books and evening wine, finally some light slumber.<br>Don't let them catch you off-guard.  
>Death approaches while I sleep.<em>

With vowing that it will be only a minute, the girl rested her body against the cool wall of the hallway. She panted heavily and the lack of oxigen burned her lungs, but with the adrenalin rushing through her veins it created such a soaring ecstasy that she haven't felt in a long time. Her senses were heightened so the brunette could pick up on even the slightest things around herself.

Her target was close. The brown haired girl could tell by the footsteps she heard slowly dying away or the faint trail of cologne the soft breeze brought to her nose along with the unpleasant stench of fresh blood close by and the girl impatiently stamped on the floor with her bare feet. She long ago kicked away those damned high-heels that hindered her from moving quicker and ripped off that annoyingly long fabric that always found its way under her sole after the first time she tripped in it.

Her hazed eyes fluttered closed, but in a small while they snapped open again as a cold run through her body. She was tired and her damp clothes gripped her sides tightly. But she could not stop. Not when freedom was only a few steps away. These were her only thoughts when Alice finally pushed herself from the wall and continued on her way with renewed strenght.

As he passed another goddamn door in the dark hallway the only thing Kevin could think of was _'I should've seen it coming.'_ and maybe he should've, but nevertheless he didn't noticed or more accurately did not think anything about the little oddities and happenings that eventually piled up into this situation before it was already too late.

He could've blame it all on tiredness easily- normally he would've caught sight of the happenings beforehand- since he did not sleep much the last week and it was already close to midnight and the closure of the party without anything unusual going on.

He could have it on being busy, after all he had a job to watch the guests and if that was not enough, Emily- who could not resign to the last-minute decision of her not being permitted to attend- tried to sneak into the party six times already in the first two and a half hours. And she was very clever with dressing into her prettiest ballgown and styling her hair according to the latest fashion. The albino had to give it to Alice (it was clear that she was the one who helped her with this ridiculous plan), the young miss nearly succeeded into mingling in the guests– the only thing giving her out was her shortness... and her comically wobbly steps in high-heels.

Really, he could've said a million things in his own defence... but he did not wanted to.

And lastly, he was not at all surprised, as if he somehow foresaw that things will turn out like this- with Alice acting suspiciously the whole evening like she was trying to draw his attention to herself and she might as well had. Despite her occasional disappearances the white haired knight rarely took off his eyes of her, but when he finally did...

It just happened too fast... One minute the brown haired girl was steadily taking step after step with a determined look on her face, but with her intentions unreadable- towards the Master and the Lady. The knight's jaw dropped and he could hear the whispers of _'scandalous'_ around the room when the long haired girl reached under her skirt.

Just what in the blue hell was she thinking, acting like that in a high society event? Kevin put down his wine glass on a nearby side table and was just about to walk over to her and ask the girl to behave more properly in the remaining half an hour or so when he noticed something quick from the corner of his eye.

It seemed like Alice noticed it too, because she quickly whipped back, turning away from and at the same time shielding the Sinclairs with her own body. And not a minute later a small throwing knife bedded itself into the girl's chest.

There was a long, pregnant pause when every eye in the room was frozen on the brunette in shocked silence as Alice touched her chest in a mesmerized way. Then she slowly streched out her hands before her face...

Fingers dyed red with her own blood... her eyes rounded with surprise before she dashed out... and at the same time panic broke out in the room that was still full of guests...

Kevin came to his senses a moment too late, because when he finally managed to fight his way through the chaotic sea of fleeing people, the brown haired girl already gained too much start. He could not see her or hear the pattering of her heals on the floor anymore. Maybe it was the wrong decision to follow the girl, because this could've been another plan to avert his attention while the real assassins would remain in the room... but he could not care about that right now.

And even in spite of her recent actions, the albino knight was pretty sure the girl would not pull a stunt like that. He was pretty sure she would not... and Kevin stopped dead in his tracks.

On the floor of the dark corridor there was occasional, but constantly thickening darker spots, her blood that was forming a bizarre trail. He just needed to follow it as if he was Dorothy in a grotesque and twisted version of The Wizard of Oz; following the yellow, or in this case black path.

The albino sweared angrily (which was very unusual coming from him) when he stumbled and landed on his knees, silently cursing whoever that came up with the brilliant idea of only lighting up the way to the restrooms and another one to a quiet sideroom before he remembered that it was the Lady; then reached for the thing that made him fall to the floor. After some close inspection he could ascertain that it was half of Alice's shoes- she must've lost it while running and he picked himself up from the floor and continued following his guide, this time more mindful about his surroundings.

That still did not stopped him from accidentally kick something in the dark that- by the sound of it- proved to be the other half of the girl's shoe and a few corridors and turns later finding some dark material pooling on the floor that was no doubt a notable part of the girl's skirt in its previous life.

Maybe if they were in a different place and time he would've been concerned with the brunette's rapidly dwindling clothes, but right now the white haired man could only think of one thing and one thing only: and that was following the girl. He did not know what would he do when he finally found her- his sword was in his room on the other side of the house and several floors above to not to frighten their guests.

Since this age they lived in was a chaotic one, even fifty years after the Tragedy of Sablier civil order was not yet fully restored. Maybe it was because most of the Old Nobility died out during that time with people's trust shaking in the remaining ones and giving way to the ascension of the New Nobility, maybe because of other reasons, but treachery, intrigue, suspicion and assassinations was almost daily with people distrusting each other. Politics and opportunism played an important role in everyday life and an armed man, (even if it was a guard in a social meeting) was surely something that would ruin already fragile bonds amongst acquaintances.

That still not meant he was completely stupid or unarmed (the two was very close to each other, if not congruous in Kevin's opinion): he still got Alice's dagger on him, but with it's unique cross-like shape and thin blade it was a mostly ornamental weapon- and therefore in an actual fight a little less than useless.

But if everything would've happened according to the plans his sword would've never been needed, because everyone was checked when they came in. Then how, how in the hell did all of this happen? If everything would've...

Damn.

He turned what seemed like the umpteenth corner and a surprised cry escaped his lips. In a bigger and mostly unused hall there stood four dark figures. Three of them weared something that looked like a cape, hoods pulled deeply in their eyes to hide their faces. Two of them was built more solid and taller than the third one. They was definitely males leaving the other two to be females.

In the smaller one that stood in the middle of the circle the other three made, the knight could recognize Alice and in the other one-

"You have a lot of nerve to call me that!" shrieked angrily a female voice and the albino could recognise the strawberry pinkette from the park. "You, who are nothing more than a worthless vessel that failed to become Lacie!"

Lacie? Who was that? And what was she talking about? It looked like Alice was thinking the same thing, because not a minute later he could hear her confused voice. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, don't give me that! You surely had to realize it too. You were only born to became Lacie. Why else do you think your father had kept you in that fucking tower- and for that long too!" answered the woman mockingly.

"You are lying, shut up!" the brunette said annoyedly while rubbing her face with her fists.

"Am I? Then why don't you go and ask Glen-sama yourself?" the pink haired woman moved closer to Alice, but something that Kevin could not see in the dark made her stop after a few steps. "Or are you too afraid again to find out the truth yourself?"

"Shut up."

"Should Onee-sama tell you all about it? Why was you selected to be Lacie or why was you eventually left in that tower and made a poison princess? Or why was you even sent here? You know you were a great disappointment when-"

"Shut up!" shouted the younger girl, but Kevin could feel even before that cry, that something was horribly wrong. Because the temperature in the room suddenly dropped to unimaginably low with a cold, penetrating wind storming through it before the air became suffocatingly still as a big and dark form appeared behind the girl.

The form looked like nothing more than a shadow, but it was so large that not only the brunette was dwarfed next to it, but it also seemed to fill up a good part of the room. The albino could not see clearly what it was, but it appeared to have long ears.

"You think Onee-sama will get scared of that?" with that said another shadow- a less smaller one- appeared, but this time next to the pinkette. It growled and the knight could recognize... a lion? How did it got here? "Leon, teach some good manners to-" she could not finish her command before a metallic squeak was heard and the older woman's painful hiss followed closely behind.

"Eyesore." Alice stated with a bored tone, but with a voice that was not at all or not entirely her's before more metallic squeak and the pink haired woman was swung around the room with hitting various objects and the wall.

Kevin stood there thunderstrucked with his legs feeling like lead and rooted to the spot. Never did he see something so overwhelmingly powerful before and he finally remembered what that metallic sound was. Chains.

The bigger shadow seemed to be engaged in raming against the woman as much objects as it could before finally throwing her against the far end of the room and three smaller shadows used that opportunity to attack, but in mid-jump they stopped with howling painfully. Another chain seemed to imply their bodies, depending only on a bare moment that not their heads were pierced.

"Eyesores. How dare you go against the mighty B-Rabbit?" Alice (or maybe the dark thing?) hissed out angrily as the two small shadows broke up into little black pieces before disintegrating fully.

Kevin could hear curses and swords being drawn as the two hooded men ran towards the madly chuckling girl who seemed unaware of them. It only took a second- one that the white haired knight did not think through properly- and he was already at the back of the brunette warding off the incoming attacks...

The dagger broke in half with a deefening _'cling'_ as it fell to the floor and the albino hissed painfully as cold blades cut through his glove, biting into his hand and letting his warm blood spill out on the white material. Surprised shouts escaped the men's throat. They did not expected to see anyone coming to the help of the girl and they exchanged perplexed glances while putting some distance between themselves and Kevin.

"Are you alright?" the albino asked with following the men's every move with his eyes and something like alarm caught hold of him when the girl failed to answer. "Alice?"

He quickly glanced at her at the same time as a blindingly white lightning flashed across the large windows. She stood there now silent and unmoving, enwreathed protectively with chains floating in the air and the white haired knight could see now that the shadow before her was actually a giant black rabbit wearing a red coat decorated with a white diamond checkered design.

Thunder bellowed and the whole room shook from its power, but Alice did not seemed to notice it, nor the worry in Kevin's voice and eyes. She just walked closer to the bundle on the floor: the lion and its master, not giving a damn about the sudden _'clink'_ sound that filled the room for a minute before the ear-splitting sound vanished into silence.

The albino was at a loss about what made the noise, the darkness of the night making it impossible to see whatever it was. At first he thought it was one of her gravity-defying chains, but they all vanished before she started to move and a barely missed attack reminded him to pay more attention to his own opponents.

They was not very challenging however; they did not seemed to have much experience in fencing and even with his broken dagger he could easily outmatch the men. Their rhythm was also easy to figure out: left, right, left, an attack to the head, right, right, aiming at his torso, left, repeat... They was more like an annoyance than anything else with their persistence and terribly out of sync combined attacks and they could not reverse the fight even when in his surprise Kevin's guard was lowered as another lightning lit up the room, revealing the same brown haired man's face (who begged Alice so persistently for a dance) under the cloak and in a heartbeat they was on the floor defeated and knocked out cold from carefully aimed strikes to their heads with the dagger's hilt.

Kevin took their dropped swords from them, silently measuring their weight and balance. He was no blacksmith, but he had to admit, those were some fine works- unlike Alice's dagger these were not only light, but durable, just suitable for quick and accurate attacks. Their hilt also had a peculiar design- a slim, snake-like creature closely resembling a dragon wrapped around protectively a fancy gate with the Netherworld's three-headed, fire breathing dog protector, Cerberus and the letter _'B'_.

'B'_? ...as in _'Baskerville'_? Could it be that Alice told the truth? But the House of Baskerville was defeated and obliterated during the Tragedy... There wasn't any reports about survivors either... at least publicly. Just what the hell was going on?_' thought the albino silently before turning back to Alice.

She seemed to be okay, but that could not be said about her opponent. The lion-like creature tried to fight back a couple of times unsuccesfully; its legs and body was too damaged and could hardly support the creature's own weight, let alone defend its unconscious master. So in an unexpected moment it grabbed the pinkette and with painful growls and wobbling steps escaped through the window with breaking the glass, but Alice seemed like she did not cared to chase after them at all.

"_Che. Wasn't worth it anyway." _the brown haired girl stated and whipped back from the window. Kevin was sure he let out a scream and was surprised that not a sound escaped through his lips: red eyes pierced through the darkness looking right at him before they turned back to the broken glass. "Go right back to where you were hiding, _little rabbit_. Don't worry I will find you." laughted the girl madly and started to make her way towards the door before she suddenly stopped while the shadow dissolved and the paralysing spell that was cast on him broke just in time for Kevin to catch the insensible girl before she hit the floor. Her clothes was wet and sticky with her blood gushing out of her wound and the knight pressed her soft body to his as he runned back with her.

The white haired man did not cared that he will surely soil his clothes with her blood, the only thing that his mind could comprehend that time was that he needed to be fast and she was very light, so much lighter than the last time he carried her in this fashion. Her warm blood drenched his white gloves quickly, but her body was getting colder just as much fastly...

He turned another goddamn corner and ran through the ballroom very happy that the guests was finally out of the house when he heard a woman scream _'My God, what happened?'_ and three more pairs of feet join him. Kevin could faintly hear his name called and questions asked through the buzzing in his head, but paid no mind to them.

He turned another corner, ran up a new flight of steps and ran, ran, ran...

"Kevin? What happened?" Emily opened a door in the hallway with her small hands rubbing her tired eyes. Her hair was half-undone and her clothes crumpled... and he ran past her without a word.

Another stairs and a long hallway then finally...

As if his previous numbness was just a dream the albino kicked in the dark wood door with so much force that it bounced back from the white wall. The knight was sure later he will find pieces of the painted plaster on the floor and quickly moved in the room before kicking the door closed.

The white haired man did not needed to see in this room as he was already familiar with it and put down Alice carefully on the bed then lighted a candle on his nightstand. Only in the flickering light did he see how pale the brunette was... she did not even seemed to breathe...

There was a light knock on his door and he half-heartedly went to answer it.

"We sent for the doctor, he should be here shortly." Lady Sinclair rushed out with sympathy. Her face was red as she tried to catch her breath.

"Thank you, Milady." his answer was monotone.

"Is she alright?"

"I don't know."

"Kevin, if there is anything we can do-"

"Thank you." he could barely force out the words politely before closing the door quite impolitely before his Lady. Why was everybody asking him questions he didn't even know the answers to? Why didn't anyhody see that she needed attendance and not him trying to find answers to those questions?

Kevin silently made his way back to his bed and sat down on its edge, only half noticing her blood slowly dyeing his bedspread redder and redder...

The knife had to go out, but he was afraid of pulling it out himself. If he moved the little blade he could end up making more damage than good or even Alice could end up bleeding to death. But he needed to do something productive, anything before he went crazy because of his helplessness. So the albino had done the first thing that came to his mind and with knowing that when her wound would be tied up it would be only in the way, he ever so carefully raised her into a sitting position, placed her head to his shoulder and untied the corset-like binding on the remnants of her dress's back. The knight pulled off the soiled fabric before loosening the corset underneath and gently layed her back down.

However, the white haired man almost regretted doing so, because the sight underneath was much worse. Her corset was nearly black from all her blood, only leaving a few small places that still remained the white it was originally. A lot of the red liquid was smeared on her skin and he did not have time to blush seeing the girl's underdressed body before he fixed the remaining part of the brunette's skirt and after finding a spare blanket in one of the wardrobes he quickly covered her lower body with it.

It seemed like an eternity of searching for or fixing various items and impatient, unproductive waiting before the doctor, a middle aged spectacled man with greying hair and a female assistant in tow finally arrived and the albino was ushered out of the room to the hallway to the Sinclairs because of his nervous fidgeting. The four was silent and pale as he was kicked out of his room with Lady Klara trying to make Emily presentable again and the girl used the moment when her mother looked up to the knight to escape from her.

"Kevin." No answer. He was not even looking at her. But she was not about to give up. "Is she alright? She won't die, right?" she asked the albino, but was scared away when she met a blank stare and he was walking up and down before the door. The albino knight was full of nervous energy and did not seemed to stop any time soon.

For twenty-eight minutes the young knight marched restlessly back and forth making everybody else more nervous just by looking at him. Once the assistant left the room in a hurry and returned just as quickly with a bowl and some fabric without saying anything.

At minute twenty-nine however, Emily's- who was not used to anyone denying her requests- patience ran out. By that time nearly all of their staff was loiering around the hallway or close by. Some was waiting for orders in a confused stupor, while others offered words of comfort or tried to calm down the albino.

The honey blond girl took a quick, calming breath prepairing herself for whatever that was to come- some of the servants managed to already tick off the so far silently fuming albino with their restless questions and prodding- but before she could say anything the door opened again and this time Kevin was much more vigilant, because by the time the tired assistant was out, the door already slammed shut behind him.

"How is she?" the albino knight rushed out silently and the tired man who was packing away some of his medical equipments looked up at him. He seemed to wordlessly measuring him up, maybe thinking about where did he seen him before he answered.

"Though the knife pierced right into her flesh as far as to its hilt, luckily it avoided any vital organs. I must commend her that she left it where it was, because otherwise she surely would have bled to death. But with the little lady moving around she unintentionally damaged the muscles considerably, so it will take time to heal fully. Still, what I'm most concerned about is that your sister-"

"Wife." corrected him Kevin as his eyes shifted from the unconscious form on his bed to the old man. If anything, Alice seemed to be in a lot worse shape and that did not helped him to calm down at the least.

"Pardon me?" the doctor seemed genuinely taken aback and a glaring contest began between the two men.

"She is my wife."

"I see." the gray haired man answered after a long, pregnant pause when he was silently pondering something with his eyes shifting uncomfortably from one place to another. "Anyway, what I'm most concerned about is that she appears to be suffering from poisoning and it's clear it's not from that knife. Any idea how is that possible?" the doctor looked at him sharply. The young knight could not ignore the glare the older man was sending in his way, like he was accusing him of something. He did not seemed like he believed him in the least and Kevin could not blame him. The room hold very little of Alice's belongings and most of them wasn't even in plain sight and by the look of it, he himself would not belived they stood at a married couple's room (and they did not). But suspecting him of harming the girl, just because their marriage was less than working... Then his eyes caught up on something.

"My wife..." he said carefully retrieving the undecorated wooden box from his dresser. "Lately she had been suffering from sleeplessness and her doctor prescribed her this." The white haired knight strained his face that treatened with blowing up at least three different shades of red from embarassment. The memory of it's contents did not go away yet. "Do you think this have anything to do with it?"

The doctor took the open box from him and examined it curiously. There was little cells formed inside of it with each containing a dark green bag with names written on them and tied with one of the three different strings. The ones with the brown tie contained normal, if not a little exotic teas, like green tea, apple with cinnamon, apricot, cherry or even rosebud with hibiscus. The ones with a gold string seemed to be filled with blends with medical purposes and was only listed on them what they cured like headache, tiredness or cold while the ones with the pink strings- the ones he wished very, very strongly he could unsee someday- only had short notes like menstrual cramps and contraceptive.

"This one?" the doctor asked with an unreadable expression pointing at a nearly empty bag and after Kevin nodded he put the box down and took the green bag out. He opened and examined it carefully occasionally murmuring to himself. "Dogbane? It can cure insomnia, but still it's too strong for such a..."

So Alice was indeed telling the truth that night. But before he could relax the doctor's head snapped back up. "Young man, how often and much did she drank from this?" he asked suddenly alarmed.

"Four or five cups a day I think." Well that was not an entirely made-up number, since the brown haired girl was forced to drink normal tea at least that much a day, so...

"Do not let her drink it anymore." instructed the old man as he put back the bag into the box and handed it to the knight. "One would think someone with a licence would be more careful and not prescribe something so strong and addicting to such a young lady."

"Alice..." Kevin cutted in when he realized he still did not got an answer to his earler question. "Will she be alright?"

"At this point I honestly don't know." the doctor rubbed his eyes tiredly before looking at the albino knight again. He looked so much older now as his face radiated sympathy and genuine worry. "To get rid of the poison I cut her wound a bit deeper and let it out as long as it was safe. She lost a lot of blood, but I don't know as to what extent it succeeded to remove the poison." he explained before he added remorsefully. "I'm not sure if she will live to morning. I'm sorry."

Kevin stood there in the same spot for a long time even after the doctor picked up his bag and after a quick goodbye left the room. Small drops of rain was dashing more and more persistently on the window, while the suffocating smell of blood seemed like it already filled up the room. The buzz in his head was replaced with pervading, unbearable silence and as if under a spell he slowly made his way to the bed after throwing his dress jacket to the chair. The knight barely noticed that the soiled sheets and covers was replaced with fresh ones or that they was assembled in a bunch with his gloves he carelessly dropped to the floor earlier, because his eyes never left Alice's small form.

At first glance the albino thought she was already dead: her chest's soft dropping and rising was nearly invisible under the blanket, giving her a doll-like look in its immobility. That in itself shouldn't have been anything out of the ordinary, however it was morbidly funny how something like that could now scare him so much- movelessness accompanied by a thoughtful sadness was something he saw her doing often when she was observing something or was really deep in thought. At times like that the girl did not seemed to be breathing either, like a predator getting ready to jump on its prey. Still, right now it was all the more frightening. He could not stop himself and brushed her dark brown bangs from her forehead-

She was so very pale and cold to touch. That was the first thing the white haired man comprehended and his thoughts started to race anew while his heart sinked further in his chest.

A thirteen year old girl, no, _Alice_, he corrected himself, was hurt tonight while she used herself as a shield to protect the masters. It was all his fault. If only he had done is work better...

"Kevin, I know you would want to stay with her, but could you be on guard, just for tonight?" it was Lady Klara's softly persuading voice that startled him out next from his stinging remorse. His hand that was previously occupied with caressing the young girl's cheek and removing stuck hair from her face retreated quicker then he could tear away his gaze to look at his Lady. "Ronald sent for any available men, but it will take some time until they arrive."

She did not needed to finish. Ever so slowly and unwillingly the albino got up from his spot on the edge of the bed, grabbed his sword and was out of the door. Maybe he would've been surprised to see that nobody remained in the hallway if he could've concentrate on anything else than his own voice screaming his mistakes at him in the deafening silence that was inside his head as he forced his heavy feet to take a step and then another one...

As he passed another goddamn door in the dark hallway with slow, uncertain steps the only thing Kevin could think of was how long it will be until the help arrives and he can stop this meaningless walks around the house. The last hours of the night was uneventful and as far as he could tell from his occasional patroling strolls out in the garden, there was not a soul in the lamp-lit streets either. And god forbid the unfortunate soul if he would happen to meet one, the knight was sure he will beat and torn from limb to limb and shot and maim and slash him with his own hands...

The albino could not make good of his promise as not a single living or undead creature crossed his way, not even that black furred bane of his existence Alice so fondly called her pet and his anger did not calmed down. Instead it steadily built up to a point at when finally the bell of the gate sounded, the nicest thing he could force out from his mouth while tearing open the gate was "WHAT?"

That did not seemed to unsettle the man stepping in from the street under a large black umbrella. "Wow. I heard there was quite a party here, but wow." he whistled in awe as his eyes landed on the maids picking up the pieces of the broken window from under the carefully pruned rose bushes and the ones who clumsily held umbrellas over them with trembling fingers.

"You have to be kidding me. That's all?" Kevin rubbed his wet temples with incredulity. He only noticed now how cold it really was- the early-morning breeze blew through his clothes, leaving an uncomfortable, numbing icy feeling and goosebumps throuth his bangs stuck to his forehead, all because of that at the first streak of dawn he left the house to guard out at the grounds without an umbrella or raincoat.

"You know, most of us was actually on a holiday for a change and no one will simply leave that for your two pretty eyes so until we can gather everyone you have to settle for little ol' me." said Adrian with a wide grin, but his tone clearly said _'You ungrateful bastard, I ran here as fast as I could instead of spending my own vacation with some beautiful lady, so be more thankful!'_

"That's no excuse. You would think a little more people will get up their lazy asses and come here. There was an attack yesterday."

"So I've heard." answered the brown haired man and his grin was instantly replaced with seriousness. "Be a little more patient, they are all around the country so it's only natural to take some time for them to arrive. What's the situation?" he asked, but when Adrian got a _'What? You did not read the message?'_ kind of look he could not help, but go to defensive. "Hey, the message was pretty vague. But nobody got hurt and that's what matters, right?"

"Alice was injured."

"Is it serious?" but when the brown haired man was met with a cynical and somewhat dangerous _'What do you think?'_ stare, he gulped and changed the topic. "Have the attackers been questioned about their hirer yet?"

Kevin's answer was a low and disgruntled growl that the other man could not understand. "Huh?"

"The bastards got away." the albino repeated a little more loudly as his hand tightened on his sword. Now that was something Adrian was previously pretty sure he will never hear from his friend's mouth. The guy was a perfectionist in anything he was doing and required the same circumspection from everyone else. Hearing the man fuck up in something other than _'the two things you will never ever catch Kevin doing alive'_ was like hearing that from starting that moment the world will perish in a random fire. It was frightening. And pretty awesome. But pretty scary none the less.

"So we have no idea who's behind it. That way things will be a little more difficult." he said deeply in thought then suddenly looked back at the white haired knight."What are you still standing here for? Go back to your wife, I'll handle this." and he gently showed his albino friend in the direction of the house for good measure.

Even though Kevin was more than a little annoyed at his friend's antics, it was also true that at the same time he was never more thankful for anyone in his life. With hurrying his steps and often taking two stairs at a time, he moved much more quicker than the previous hours as if he wanted to shake down and leave behind his anxiety on some unused corridor never to be found again. His dark thoughts however, caught up with him again and again. What if something happened to Alice while he was away? What if it was already too late? The albino shook his head to clear away his apprehension and opened the door.

He was not prepared however, to see his chair moved next to the bed and see his Lady occupying it. Like a worrying mother she must have kept vigil next to the girl or at least that was what the burned down candle on the nightstand with a half-full bowl and the already dry, but no doubt previously wet cloth on Alice's forehead suggested. She still wore her evening dress and her head was rested on the bed as she slept.

"Milady." the woman was already up to the softest sound and looking around confused as if trying to guess where she was. "Maybe you should continue your rest in your room." Kevin suggested gently while the noblewoman quickly righted herself and fixed her clothes, all the while the knight was looking away.

"I'm sorry, I did not wanted to cause any inconvinience." she said before catching his tired gaze resting on the cold pack. "She was burning up with a fever and I just could not left her here."

"I understand. Thank you for your concern." answered the white haired knight as he was checking for any changes in Alice's condition. For a few minutes neither said anything then Lady Klara broke the silence.

"Did the men arrive?"

"Yes, he already took up his position in the garden." Kevin replyed while fixing the covers on the girl.

"He?" the Lady's surprise couldn't be bigger even if she would open the Ark of Covenant itself.

"Yes. Adrian could give you further explanation if needed."

"I see." Lady Klara appeared to be lost in tought for a minute, but she was quickly back in _'Mother mode'_ again. "Oh, Kevin, you look horrible! Quickly change out of those clothes and take a hot bath! And eat something warm!"

"Thank you for your concern, Milady. I'll do it right away." Even though he said that, it was still a long while after the Lady left when the young knight finally proceeded to do so and he was very quick to be over with it before –now freshened- he took the empty seat next to the bed.

For hours without and end he watched Alice and her cheeks which was a rosy red color because of her fever while changing the cold application every now and then. He would observe the faint movements of her chest, straining his ears when to his horror she was a little too motionless for a little too much time and only relaxing when he could hear the irregualar breaths she took. All the while he was maybe a little selfishly waiting for her to awaken- and his heart sunk a little more each time when she did not awake for the delicious smell of breakfast or lunch that the worrying Mathilda kindly brought up, and failing to open her eyes when dinner was served and hoped along with the maid that next time she will rise for sure.

Emily was also there. In every few hours she will sneak to his room and enquire about Alice and after a particularly painful kick to his ankle he received from her in the morning, she will trying to coax Alice into waking up with every promise her eight year old brain could came up with and pouting when each and every bribe of her remained unanswered.

Kevin strongly suspected that it was the honey blond who discouraged the others from coming into his room one by one to make inquiries about any progress in Alice's condition and also she was the one who provided everyone with information. Whatever was the method the young girl used, it was effectful, so much that aside from she and Mathilda, the only other visitor was the doctor, who arrived in the early afternoon to check in Alice. By that time the brunette's breathing became regular, even if it still remained faint and he could not find any changes aside from her fever going down and her pale complexion slowly becoming a little more healthier.

It only felt like a minute later when there was a crash then a semi-loud curse and the albino was startled out of his sleep. He had an uneasy dream, one he did not remember what it was about and it did not seemed more than five minutes ago when he closed his eyes. Yet, the sky was already pitch-dark and the house was silent again.

"What are you doing here?" grumbled the knight after letting down his sword.

"Relief." Adrian's pained voice answered after a colorful string of curses from somewhere the floor where he was nursing his hurting shin. He could not rub it three times before his arm was grabbed and the brown haired man found himself out in the dark hallway and he could faintly hear the door being closed before he got any explanation.

"Psst, do you want to wake her up?" his white haired friend hissed out impatiently. "So what do you want?"

"I'm tired. I have been on guard non-stop for the last thirty-two hours." When that did not seemed to have any affect or evoke any simpathy whatsoever from Kevin, Adrian changed tactics. " I mistook a bench for a horse five times already the last two hours. So now it's your turn to work." he whined indignantly.

The albino knight was puzzled. Was it really that long? Sure, the Sun already went down, then rose up again since the doctor's visit and now it was pitch black another time without bringing the slightest change in Alice's condition...

He stared passively at his frend, but when instead of being intimidated the only reply he got was a big yawn he gave up. "Fine." he said before turning around and grabbing his sword, but quickly whipped back and caught the brown haired man as he was about to enter the room after him. "Just where do you think you are going? Go to your own room!"

"I don't have a room here, asshole." Adrian replied as he got out of his death grip and resumed his way to the chair with a pillow and a blanket. "Don't worry, in the meantime I'll see after her and tell you if anything happens."

Now that was quite an alluring option- or not. "Don't even think about that!"

"Why? I promise I will keep an eye on her. Or don't you want anybody to watch over her while you're away?"

"I... fine. But don't even think about doing anything unproper and if your attention slips even the slightest and you could not notice if something is wrong I'll cut off your head." Kevin signalled with his finger before his neck to give emphasis to his words before dashing away silently fuming. Two whole days already passed and the Sinclair knights still needed to arrive. Really, one would think they would already be here...

So the next few days they took turns: for six hours one of them guarded the house while the other rested and looked out for Alice then they changed. This continued as long as a larger troop marched out from the city and they got word that something happened at the countryside. No one knew what it was or where it all happened, but the sheer number of dispatched soldiers gave enough reason to some people to fear war.

Even though the last war was fifty years ago- after the Tragedy of Sablier, but the bloody power-struggles to fill up the place of the Old Nobility that followed still pressed heavily on the people's mind. Several families died out in the civil war or disappeared myseriously that time. It was no wonder everyone was apprehensive.

All the while the Sinclairs along with everyone else waited more and more impatiently for news about the recent procession and its reason along with the missing guards. A few hours later, it was Wednesday however, the most unexpected news arrived: the knights was found in the forest in two days distance from Reveille- dead. No one knew what or who could finish them off, but it was enough to nearly cause panic in the already upsetted morale. But before anything could get out of hand, another troop marched back to the city and an explanation was released about some flood that the army was sent to help take care of.

This is how Thursday found the Sinclair townhouse: still shaken over the recent happenings and not comforted by the official explanation. Masters and servants was all gloom and laughter, that at other times was so abundant between these walls was now rare and died out soon. There wasn't anything to be happy about: with five knights dead, a duenna seriously injured, a police investigation closed without results and a ruined party on top of an assassination attempt was a little more than enough bad news in five days.

It was no wonder Kevin was in a particularly sour mood on that particular morning when he needed to give Alice's watch over to Adrian. There was still some time until the change and he quietly searched for a spare shirt to change into. It was all a habit of course; no matter the noise the brown haired girl did not even fluttered her eyelashes. That was proven when late at night Adrian managed to knock over the bedside table.

So when at first he heard the girl grumble he thought it was his imagination until the bed creaked and a painful hiss was heard. The albino knight dropped his shirt.

"What day is it?" Alice asked disoriented while massaging her bondaged chest. In a minute the surprised girl was snatched up in a tight and warm hug, then just as quickly she head a cough and she was pushed away. The knight did not looked at her, instead he was avoiding her eyes.

"It's Thursday." the white haired man answered embarrassed and after fixing the pillows he gently pushed the girl back down.

"What happened?" the brunette continued with a coarse voice and slowly sat up on the bed again.

"The party was ruined and the assassins got away. You got a pretty big hole in your chest, but other than a fright everybody is alright." Kevin deadpaned. Upon hearing this there was a botheringly big smile on the girl's face so he could not stop his question. "What?"

"You own me. Big time." said Alice, but her smile quickly gave its place on her face to a frown when she made a move to sit up straight. "Are you still angry with me?" she asked with embarrassedly turning her face away when Kevin did not returned the smile.

"A little." Kevin answered before sitting down on the bed. "What you've done was stupid, dangerous and reckless. But it was also courageous none the less. That's why I'll let you escape."

"Huh?" Alice could not help, but look back at him and his serious eyes.

"You said you wanted to search for your memories, right? So I'll help you get away from here."

Upon hearing that the girl looked strange, something that the young knight could not put his finger on_. 'Shouldn't she be excited? This was what she had wanted.'_ and thoughts like this filled his mind. But if the knight was waiting for a thank you or any other form of reply, he was disappointed. A loud grumbling was heard and Alice did not utter a world, but a minute later she carelessly threw down the blanket.

"What are you... Where are you-"

"None of your business." the brunette crossly replied and cling helplessly to the nightstand. The five day long laying in bed was no good for her legs. They fell asleep and sting in a million places at the same time and all her small steps was wobbly and uncertain.

"You musn't be out of bed. You-" as he was about to gently pick her up and bring her back to bed, Kevin's hands was slapped away and he was silenced with a punch to his ribs.

"Don't you dare touch me so lightly, you lowly servant." Alice said haughtly and the albino knight released a deep breath that he did not even know he was holding. The brown haired girl was well and back to her old, arrogant self again. "I must go."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait." he replied as he picked up the girl, now with a little more ease. "Hmm?" the albino hummed when the brown haired girl buried her face to his shoulder and whispered something he could not hear.

"Bring me my nightgown." Alice repeated while making faces at the dirty corset she was still wearing. "I don't need to concern myself with such trivial matters, so I will make you my temporary manservant for the time being."

"Sure, sure." Kevin acknowledged with a smile in his voice as he was carrying the girl to her room. Really, when will she ever learn to ask for help nicely? But even though, he missed these moments and Alice's voice in the last five days...

"And I need to go to the bathroom." the brunette continued with burning cheeks.

A little bit later she was sure he was still somewhere close by to take her back to the room. But Alice's eyes fell upon the bathtube and a warm bath became irresistable to her. "Well, he could wait a little longer." the girl declared and with a smile she started to make herself a much needed warm bath.

* * *

><p><strong>Authoress' Ramblings:<strong> God, I feel such a troll... anyways, bet you didn't see these developments coming :D

I'm so sorry about the late update, this chapter was suppossed to come out for Christmas, but then some serious shit hit the fan in the form of my exams, so I postponed it to New Year, but at that time I had exams too, so I postponed it to Valentines Day, but then I got ill, so yeah... D: Have I ever mentioned that I have the most rotten luck of all mankind? No seriously. =(

This chapter contains my friend's theory that she came up with back in 2010 about Lacie. Her idea was that if Glen could transfer his soul to other bodies then he could do it to his beloved Lacie too. And what better new body he could use then their daughters? As for me, I would be totally and unreversably brainfucked if her theory fully came true (and that would have a destructive effect on my future fics/chapters/etc =S) so yeah. I personally don't support her theory (or any other one right now because of lack of information as how exactly Jack intend to bring back Lacie aside from causing the Tragedy of Sablier one), but it looked interesting enough and I was practically forced to put it in XD

Two of my friends also made me a website for my birthday... or intended to. Exactly 73 days after my birthday and 293 days before my next one they called me and I received this half-assed, half-finished thing... probably as a revenge for cutting out the i.b. part. Yeah, yeah it will be in the next chapter, happy? *goes back deleting crappy site I don't really need because every information is posted here*

BTW anyone ever got tired of fighting people waiting for the other to finish their ridiculously long speech or waiting for them to pay attention to the fight before attacking him/her? XD

If anyone wants to complain about the crappy fight scene: feel free to do it. I'm not very good at writing these kind of things even though I learned some kendo from my boyfriend (and annoyed the hell out of him with always using the exact same attack until he slacked off and then BAMMM! attack from a completely different way ~good times, good times~) but that's not important now! :)

As for the awesome people who reviewed:

To _**Vivace**_: Glad you liked that chapter, I hated its start, but whenever I tried to fix it, it became more and more horrible so I just stuck with Version 1.0 D: I really like your questions (and reviews) because I get some insight about what my readers are thinking (since I'm not one of those writers with the most awesome reply stats) and what is unclear to them. =) I consider Marie and Anne main characters too (though it could be only me) as they will stay for most of the story. But aside from that yes, there will be new characters (at least in Part II). =)  
>What can I say, I have an insane amount of practice with vague answers for I have a wifey (my best friend) who is the one person I would never ever lie, but there is some things that is needed to be kept a secret from her for a while (like her birthday gift or that I'm her secret Santa) so yeah. =D Keep asking questions if you have some, I like 'em! =)<p>

And to _**ObitoU.4evrYoung**_: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! =)

I hope everyone had happy holidays! I thank all of you for reading, faving, alerting, reviewing and all the support and advice I got from you the last year! They mean a lot to me. And please stay with me for this year too!

Recently I'm surrounded with friends who are the type to ask for the whip from life. =D (This is a Hungarian saying about people whose every trouble was brought on them by themselves) It's kind of amusing somethimes. =)

Also, all kind of reviews and constructive critique greatly lifts my mood (which in turn helps me to write more quickly), so don't be stingy with them! =D


	11. Sin X

**Sin X**

_The fragile peace we managed to keep somehow...  
>...is starting to go mad...<br>all because of one little girl..._

_**Near Reveille – Early-August, the morning after the Sinclair Ball**_

The soft hum of the nearby stream irritated her even more as she measured the current situation they were in: she was dumped on the chilly ground after a night of running with tails between their legs as the cold rain kept falling and there was nothing above to protect them from the sky's fury. There was no songs from the early morning birds either to warm at least their hearts – surely they must have hidden in their dry and warm nests from this depressing weather – and they did not meet another soul since their escape. That was probably for the best, since she did not know what would she do if she happened to meet one. It wouldn't be pretty, that was for sure.

And if being frozen to the bone, hungry, tired and soaking wet was not enough, it was Alice who managed to shame them so. Alice, the unneeded, the unwanted one. Alice, the useless. She, Lottie- Glen-sama's most faithful subordinate- was defeated by the same incompetent Alice who was discarded and left to herself, never to be found again.

So far she had played nicely: she kept quiet and only watched her from afar giving her plenty of opportunities to set right the blunders she kept piling up, never telling on her when that white-haired knight of hers actually got out alive from a poison princess' kiss. Hell, she even tried to help her with luring in and eliminating him.

Lottie irritatedly clicked with her tongue. That annoyance needed to be obliterated at its roots; because if things kept going this way and she could not carry out a simple kill then that weasel who dared to use Glen-sama's name so boldly might withhold the information she needed. And that called for blood.

While the pinkette was thinking, her hand unknowingly moved to the injured parts of her body, but the scars was already gone. She was only unconscious for about twenty minutes at best, yet it was enough time for her companions to accept defeat and run like cowards. Some nobles they were: not brave enough to fight, but more than willing to aid anybody who would take out another noble so they could climb just a little up on the social ladder. Disgusting.

"Are you alright, Miss Lottie? We can't stay in one spot for long, but if you need a little more-" it was the brown-haired one who draw her out of her ruminations.

"This is nothing." she hissed out angrily. Even if her wound disappeared without a trace, the few hours of rest on a dirty, cold and wet forest ground did nothing to lift her mood and she acknowledged with satisfaction that her brown-haired companion slunk back to what he was doing before he incurred on himself any more of her wrath.

Lottie looked at their little camp: the brown-haired man checked the traps he set up around their campsite while the other man kept the fire alive. It was very little, constantly struggling to not to burn out and the wet wood belched such smoke that even a blind man could find them easily from the next village.

But there was something more conspiciuous than their pathetic little fire: the effect of the men's broken contract was still visible as they carried on with their preparations for breakfast. If not for the blood stains on their shirts and dress coats, then their movements betrayed so: they were slow, hiding the obvious pain they was in, but they rarely ever hissed or gave any other sign of their discomfort. Even if their scars wasn't very deep, there wasn't anything they could've used for attending their injuries and infection was a certainty more than a possibility.

The other one, a blond man who was a fourth or fifth son of the Gallagher family was boiling water and with his pocket knife prepared some wild fruits he found nearby. His brown-haired companion was out of sight and from the sound of it he was gathering firewood or that was what the constant noise of snapping wood must have meant. At least there was something the two noblemen was good at if fighting with or without a Chain wasn't their strong point. No wonder, none of them was a Baskerville.

"Look Miss Lottie, what had I caught!" the brown-haired man dropped the few pieces of wood he gathered and showed proudly his catch. It was a brown rabbit. "I'm sure it will taste good-"

They never noticed the black shadow that appeared behind them. They faithfully served their role, but she had no need for the weak and as she hid them from immediate sight, Lottie was sure no one will ever miss them- or find them for that matter.

The pinkette did not think however, that she would bump into trouble so soon. Only a day had passed since she parted with her companions and since then she went on without a stop. But Leon was tired and hungry, not at all used to such long sprints, so a little after noon they took a brief rest. Her Chain was still away when she awoke to the sound of horses and men merrily chatting.

Though she wasn't defenceless, she wasn't prepared to fight off so many men either. She thought of hiding and waiting until they get out of sight, but even if they hadn't seemed like they had spotted her, it was too late now.

Lottie slumped back close to the tree and wrapped herself up into her deep red cloak. It was a pathetic camouflage, but the men seemed to be in a hurry and one after the other they passed the unmoving girl. But as the last one of them was getting past her, the wind got stronger and picked up the tip of one of her strawberry pink locks. The man immediately stopped as if he only noticed her now and signaled to his companions. In a moment they rode back and five armed men stopped before her.

"Look gentlemen, what did I found!" chuckled one of them, a red-haired man, the same one who noticed her and Lottie stood up from her spot under a big oak tree. "And you said we won't find anything entertaining on our way! You'll need to put your hands deeply in your pockets and pay up, as I won this round." he said to his friends before turning back to the pinkette. "So what is a fine young lady such as yourself doing out alone in the woods in such a horrible weather?"

"I have no business with you. Move along!" hissed out the pink haired woman while she draw her cloak a little closer.

"Aww, don't be such a spoil-sport! Are you lost? Should we escort you to the nearest town? Worry not, as the knights of the Sinclair family we will guarantee that you will arrive back safely. And while we are making our way there you could tell us something about yourself as payment."

Sinclair? It looked like luck just smiled on her.

"There's no need for that. If you must know I live in the nearby village and was just taking a morning walk." the pinkette forced out through her teeth. The young redhead obviously did not took the hint.

"In that dress?" he asked skeptically, but as the words left his lips, his face darkened as a recognition of some sort hit him. It did not take a mind-reader to know what he realized as he and his companions reached for their swords. "I'm afraid you'll have to come with us." he said darkly, all his previous cheerfulness gone.

Lottie was frantically racking her brain for a way out. There was no way to find a legible excuse if they already heard about the ball. She was sure they already knew all about it and now was scanning through Reveille and it's vicinity for the culprits.

From what she heard from her companions Alice was injured and so was her white-haired lover. It was only light injuries, but Lottie was sure that even if they did not tell on her, the clothing she was wearing was a dead give away, so there was no way she could talk her way out of this or make them believe otherwise. Skilled as she might be, the sheer number of them made it impossible for her to charm (and possibly kill) them.

So her only option was to fight and kill them. But she was fairly sure she could not take on all five of them at once. They might be knights, but their eyes betrayed that they will not give her a fair fight, more so if their top priority was to capture and possibly interrogate her. She knew she could not run away from them either, because she would not reach even the stream close by before they catch her with their quick horses. Right now the only way out seemed to be a surprise attack. But Leon was still away and even if she would call out for him, there was a high chance he would not hear her, but the knights will anticipate an attack.

Well either way she was not about to go down without a fight and stealthily slide a dagger to her hand and started to search with her eyes for any weaknesses she could use to her advantage. However, luck was truly on her side today and Leon appeared behind the men. Lottie made a little gesture with her eyes and at the same time when her daggers lodged deeply into two of the dismounted men's heart, Leon already sent two other to the ground. From then on it was easy to finish them off and after Lottie made sure to chase their horses away, she get on the one she previously tied to the oak tree.

That horse proved to be the quickest one and Lottie took off with a mad pace to her destination. This way she could reach Sablier more quickly and with relatively small effort. When she will arrive there, she will have the upper hand again. There was no way she could let Glen-sama down and let Alice win. Not now. Not ever.

It still took the strawberry pinkette another one and a half days to reach the mansion. She took the shortest road possible, using long-forgotten paths and rarely used roundabouts. The Sun was going down, painting the old building a crimson color before waning behind the green mountains.

Some of the other poison princesses quickly gave her way in the front garden, but she did not stopped even after she jumped down from the tired horse and pushed away anybody who was in her way as she ran along the familiar hallways while the poor, nearly hit girls ran to the opposite direction with such speed as if the hounds of Hell themselves was chasing them. They only stopped again when the trees surrounding the estate attenuated until they reached a small clearing.

There was about ten sister of them- all poison princesses in training or waiting to be sent off- sitting comfortably on big blankets and having a picnic under one of the large trees surrounding the old tower. It was a mismatched little group of pretty, young ladies with different hair and eye colors, shapes of faces and a difference in age between them: while most looked like they was still in their teens and therefore nearing the completion of their training, there was also some that was in their early twenties and even some who were still children. And now all of them looked at the newcomers.

"Miss Lottie is back." reported one of the newcomers- the same blonde girl who jumped out of the pinkette's way not five minutes ago- after she and the girls with her took their places among them. She sat next to a black-haired woman and an unpleasant shiver ran through the group as she was speaking. "She is alone." her voice and tone was monotone and her eyes unseeing as if she was under a deep spell.

"I see." it was Marie who sat next to her and broke the silence that settled between them. If she was surprised she certainly didn't show it; she just sat there sipping from her teacup just as nonchalantly as always while all eyes were on her, but then suddenly she frowned and poured the contents of the cup to the grass next to the blanket.

"Next time, please be sure to use a little less milk Larkspur. It will allow the original taste to come forth more and not ruin the fragrance." she said good-naturedly as she looked at the girl across from her before turning back to the blond. "That certainly is unexpected. Could you finish what I asked from you?" as always her voice was kind as she talked, but unlike when she spoke to Alice, this time her voice was thick with fakery.

"Yes. Everything is as you had asked for, Miss Marie."

"Thank you, Gardenia. You are such a wonderful child." she said stroking the girl's golden locks. "I am so very pleased with you. Keep up the good work till the very end."

"As you wish, Miss Marie."

"Now everyone, go and finish everything as I taught you. And if somebody asks you-"

"Shh-" gestured the girls with their fingers.

"Yes, good girls." praised Marie and the girls stood up and curtseyed before hurrying away. When they left the clearing, Anne who previously took a seat opposite to her sister in the circle sat next to her twin.

"So she came back alone." she said thoughtfully after biting into a biscuit. Her voice was calm and casual as if they were having an everyday conversation, but Marie knew she didn't tell everything that was on her mind.

"It's still within our calculations." answered Marie while putting away the empty cups to the basket she brought along.

"True. Although," another bite. "Lottie and Glen-_sama_ along with _Mistress_ Celia will be quite furious." stated Anne with a certain distaste to the honorifics in her voice and she put down the half eaten biscuit.

"Please don't refer to that scum as such." said Marie and she looked up at her twin. "Although they played their roles well, it was as plain as it can be that they was a far cry from who they was acting to be. They could not even fool Lottie, nor the nobles around them. Besides, everybody knows that Glen Baskerville was defeated and banished from this world no matter who claims it to be otherwise." she folded up and packed a blanket away.

"Still, regardless of them actually being Baskervilles or not, they could easily kill us if this gets to their ears."

"Don't worry, I already instructed the _'Blank'_ about how to act and what to do. They will dearly pay for what they had done to Miss Alice for all those years." her tone was icy and she put her hands down to her lap. They both was deep in thought and without them noticing, their minds wandered down on the same road- that certain morning eleven days ago.

"Are you sure it is wise to use the Blank, Sister?" it was Anne who broke the silence as she was looking far ahead. The afternoon was quickly nearing its end and she could see the golden-haired girl hurrying through the garden. "The damage _'Mistress Celia'_ and the _'Baskervilles'_ caused run too deep in them to ever believe they stand in our side."

"Oh, I'm more than sure."

"How so?"

"We have been there once, Sister. Don't you remember?" the ghost of a bitter half-smile passed over Marie's smart features before completely dying away, as if it never existed in the first place. There was pity in her blue eyes as she looked at her twin. "The Blank..." her voice came out weak and she paused briefly and picked up another blanket before going back to her work and a strange feeling washed over Anne. It was the first time her sister bowed her head down in shame and could not stand her gaze.

"Those unfortunate children is the product of the procedure of making poison princesses." Marie's voice completely changed and a shudder passed over Anne. Her sister's voice was much stronger and cleaner now, but in turn it lost all of her humanity and it was as if she was talking about objects, not human girls. "In the end of all the torture and mind-games they lose themselves along with all kind of volition. They would do anything without regard to what is asked from them or who makes the request. So bending them to my will takes little to no effort. Those poor girls would not refuse anything if in the end they are praised for it."

"I see you had planned out everything profoundly. What about the letter?"

"I just finished it this morning." she pulled out a white envelope that was sealed with wax. "This is the last report we're sending to Pandora. Even if the end of this reports' arrival not, then this night's happenings will surely draw their attention back here." she let out a spiteful giggle that quickly became maniacal laughter. "Who would've thought that the nosy Pandora agents who had always meddled in our business will some day come in handy in their death?"

"Are you sure they are not suspecting anything?"

"I've sent these fake reports to Pandora for two years now and they still haven't noticed anything." her sister answered after she had calmed down. "I think it is safe to assume that if they did not suspect anything till now, then from starting tonight there will be nothing to find out here anymore."

They both knew it was all too true and with that reassuring thought Marie hid the envelope back into her clothes. She took the hand of her sister and together they ran like never before in their life.

A giggle escaped their lips, but they made no effort to stifle it, letting the breeze carry their cheerful voices far away. Just like when a soap-bubble pops and thus ends the vision of an ever-changing rainbow coloured world, their surroundings twisted and turned, colours and shapes merged into each other, creating a scenery that was both familiar and new: the crooked tower in the ring of the dead trees was long abandoned even before they started to serve Alice, while the garden- weeds and briar overgrown it decades ago- and the hallways that caved in halfway were likewise empty.

The staff and everyone else was already having supper; the few who were absent discussed the course of action they should take regarding Alice and the Sinclairs. And even if someone got wind of their plan it was already too late to stop them now.

In a matter of seconds they reached the heavy gates and took off in the direction of the hilltop that was covered in a thick forest just out of the city's borders, only their giggles and the sound of the chaos they unleashed ringing in their ears.

They only looked back once; just as the red Sun's last rays was dying away before the impending darkness of the night and crimson flames was licking on all the walls of the old mansion. Smoke curled up high in the sky and the wind carried over along with the stench of burning flesh and blood the many cries of agony- the intoxicating sweet fragrance of freedom.

The sisters did not spend too much time standing there, and after a short minute Anne gently swished with the whip among the horses and set off with their carriage. That night they travelled a long way, because none of them slept.

That night they committed their greatest sin, but nothing could prepare them for what awaited at Reveille...

* * *

><p><strong>Authoress' Notes:<strong> First of all, let me apologise for my tardiness in updating Poison Princess! In the last one and a half years I had some very good moments (my Wifey's wedding) and some hellish moments in my life (a very close relative's death). This was also my final year and I got my qualification as a Logistics Administrator (yay!), but I had to work my ass off for it. As you all may know, I'm a rather sickly person and all the stress and drudgery before my final exams resulted in my health worsening to the point of near hospitalization a couple of times (meaning the only reason why I did not end up in a hospital was because I refused to go). But let's get back to the important part, shall we~?  
>So in this chapter Marie and Anne committed their sin. Dundundun, betcha none of you knew Marie is a Contractor =)<br>Also this chapter was a lot longer (more than 20 pages in Word!), but I decided to post its second half (the Alice and Kevin half) in the next chapter, because it felt better (and easier to edit) that way ^^ Sin XI is also nearly ready, so the next update shouldn't be too far away =)  
>I'm insanely thankful for all of you kind readers for your patience with me, the lovely comments (yes, I read them all!), favs and follows as well as for the silent and anon readers! Your reviews kept me going on even on my worst days! =D And here's a big wave and thanks for the new readers!<br>Also for _**Vivace:**_ the next chapter will hopefully answer your questions, I don't want to spoil too much of it, but let's just say, the next chapter's main points will be Kevin and Alice's relationship (a missed scene), Alice's original plan and her new one, and the dynamics of the Sinclair family and their relation with other families =)  
>Don't forget to share your thoughts with me on this chapter!<br>~Natsuhi


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